


Perfect Symmetry

by Shadow_Side



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Backstory, M/M, Multi, Strexcorp, alternate viewpoint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-09 00:23:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14705618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_Side/pseuds/Shadow_Side
Summary: Everyone knows the story of how Cecil fell in love with Carlos. This is the story of how Cecil fell in love with Kevin… and how it changed everything.[A stand-alone fic set inChiralityverse.]





	1. Oh Boy, You Gotta Leave This Town

**Author's Note:**

> Dear readers, one and all… I am back! And, without further ado, let's jump straight to my traditional rambly intro…
> 
>  _So_ , when I first started writing Night Vale fic, it was nearly always from Cecil's point of view. But when Chiralityverse began, it was very much Carlos' story, so I made the decision to have it all be from his POV… and _then_ , when Kevin's backstory took off, he started getting POV as well, which worked nicely because there were large sections of the early plot where he was off doing something else.
> 
> Needless to say, it is now Cecil's turn, and I thought this would be a good opportunity to show some parts of the story that have never been seen before – as well as fulfilling one or two reader-requests along the way! As a result, amongst other things, you are getting the sequence in the house that doesn't exist one last time, because I _need_ to show that one from Cecil's POV. And the start of the after-battle sequence, for _reasons_.
> 
> As a result, this fic consists of a (chronological) series of snapshot scenes from various points in Chiralityverse, and – given that we all know the story of how Cecil fell in love with Carlos – this one is very much the story of how Cecil fell in love with Kevin. It's also (unsurprisingly) chock-full of spoilers for the whole series, so if you're new to this 'verse, you may want to start at the beginning…
> 
> As always (and especially if you _do_ want to start at the beginning), please refer to the [Chiralityverse Series Notes](http://archiveofourown.org/series/146883) for some helpful guidance on reading orders for this series as a whole, though this one is a little tricky as it jumps all over the place!
> 
> The title is from the Keane song of the same name, and – as is apparently becoming traditional – the chapter titles are all taken from the song in question. Also, at time of initial posting this one is not yet complete: you get the first two chapters today, and I reckon there's probably two more to come. I did consider waiting until this one was completely done but it's been over a month (a month!) since I finished the insanityfest that was [Believer](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13217850), and I didn't want you to miss me too much. ;-)
> 
>  _Lastly_ , I've set the rating of this one straight to Mature, even though these first two chapters are only Teens And Up, because – minor spoiler alert – some of those aforementioned as-yet-unseen sequences take place on the First Infernal Plane, and as such I thought it was wise to warn you in advance…

Everyone knows the story of how Cecil Palmer fell in love with Carlos the scientist.

It's hard for them not to. Cecil talked about Carlos on the radio for an entire year, to say nothing of the day of the incident at the bowling alley. Or, indeed, other moments after it: their first date, the day they decided to move in together, and so many more besides.

Cecil knows he went a little overboard with it, but the truth is, he couldn't help himself. He was so utterly smitten with the beautiful, then-mysterious scientist that his thoughts went to the other man constantly.

The story of how Cecil fell in love with his own double is not so well-known.

This is not because Cecil loves Kevin any less. On the contrary: once he fell for him, he fell hard, but he knew from the start that things would go very differently.

For one thing, it took time for Carlos to realise he was in love with Cecil. But Kevin was clearly, desperately smitten almost immediately after coming to town. He didn't need time to realise he was in love with Cecil.

He needed time to realise Cecil was in love with him.

And now the three of them have been together for almost two years. And, more than that, in less than a month, they're getting married. All three of them. Night Vale – and Desert Bluffs' – first ever three-person wedding.

Cecil can't stop smiling whenever he thinks about it. Whenever he remembers that soon it will be real, and this insanely wonderful chapter of their lives will draw to a close as the next one begins.

And what a journey it's been. He thinks about it a lot, and today, he finds himself thinking about how he fell in love with Kevin… and how everything changed, once he did.

***

_**TWO YEARS AGO** _

It starts on the day of the sandstorm.

Such events are not uncommon in Night Vale, and Cecil thinks little of it when he first hears the news. Even a large sandstorm – the largest in decades, apparently – doesn't feel like a major development. Sure, it means he's probably going to be stuck at the station for a while after his broadcast, whilst he waits for the winds to subside, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't seem significant.

Not at first. But then it starts to get _weird_. Cecil isn't far into his broadcast when the reports about the doppelgangers start coming in. All across town, in the midst of the storm, people seem to be encountering exact duplicates of themselves.

And _fighting_ , usually without provocation, as if the mere idea of having an _other_ was too much for their minds to process.

As his broadcast draws on, Cecil finds himself worrying more and more, waiting for the moment when his own doppelganger might appear. He's made it quite clear on-air that he's wholly opposed to the thought of all this fighting, but what is he supposed to do if his other attacks first?

It's a frightening thought.

And _then_ it happens to Dana, Cecil's brilliant new intern. One moment, she's in the booth, and the next… there's _two_ of her, and she's fighting _herself_. It's horrifying to watch, not just because of the violence but also because Cecil can't even tell which is the original and which is the double, and – when one finally falls – which is the victor.

But if that was chilling, it's nothing compared to what comes next. To the email from _Steve Carlsberg_ , insisting the sandstorm has been manufactured by the government, as a way of controlling the population, and blah, blah, blah…

Seriously, does Steve not _pay attention_ to the news?

And then it happens. From out of nowhere, a black vortex opens up along one wall of the studio, and the mere sight of it fills Cecil with concern. And… with a desire to know precisely what's going on. Because this is new. No one else is reporting spontaneous vortex formation. Crazy murderous doppelgangers, yes. Holes in reality… no.

So Cecil decides to find out where it leads, and what he finds… what he finds will haunt his nightmares for the rest of his days. He's never seen anything so damnably horrifying in his life: a radio studio that seems almost like a mirror of his own, except dark and cold and drenched in blood.

And… other things. _Worse_ things.

He can hear a sound, too: a deep, resonant humming that seems to cut him right to the core; horrifying and threatening… and, at the same time, _alluring_ , in a way that is all kinds of wrong.

There's an open broadcast going out here, too, and Cecil can't help saying a few words. He needs some way to process the shock, though it's questionable as to whether this actually works even a little. And… it means he sees the photograph.

And gasps. Cecil has always kept a photograph of himself at his own desk. His mother used to say that it was important to keep something around to remind you who you are, in case you ever forget, and it's advice that Cecil has followed ever since. From the look of it, whoever owns this desk might just be doing the same thing, because…

… _Oh_.

Cecil stares in shock at the photo on the desk. It's a picture of a man who is identical to him… but who _isn't_ him. His clothes are very similar in style to those that Cecil favours, but the colours are brighter, and… do they need to involve that much orange? And the man's eyes…

…his _eyes_ …

They're _black_ , like obsidian, and Cecil feels a fresh burst of horror at the sight. This man is him, but not him, and the smile on his face makes Cecil's blood go cold. Is this real? Is it some nightmarish dark future, or is it happening now, or..?

He's not sure he wants to know. And he would very, very much like to leave this accursed, blood-drenched place, with its terrifying hum, and never, ever come back.

But he's a _professional_. So he cues the weather first.

And then Cecil turns back to the vortex – which is white on this side – silently praying that it will take him home to Night Vale. He hurries forwards into the light… and finds himself face-to-face with those haunting dark eyes from the photograph. It's _him_ … but not him.

Another him. Another him, but not a twin, and not one of those strange sandstorm-doppelgangers.

Something more. An other. A… a _double_.

They both stand staring, each obviously stunned by what he's seeing. Cecil certainly is. This person, this man, is him, and isn't him. For a moment, neither of them seems able to move, too shocked by their meeting to know how to react.

And then the horror kicks in, and Cecil acts without thinking about it. Without _letting_ himself think about it. He lunges forwards at the other-him, filled with the need to _attack_ , and his double responds… but only to defend himself. He moves with the kind of finesse that suggests he knows how to fight, but all he does is hold Cecil off.

For a moment that lasts a breath and an eternity, the two of them are locked together, and then some unseen force kicks in, pulling them apart.

Reality slams back into focus, and Cecil staggers forward into his own broadcast studio. Behind him, the vortex flickers away into nothing, leaving only flat, dark wall, smooth and clean and devoid of blood.

Cecil breathes a marked sigh of relief, dropping down into his chair and trying to process what's just happened. It's only then that he realises that someone has cued the weather here, too… and he suspects he knows who it was.

When the report comes to its end, Cecil manages to finish his show. He can't help talking about what happened, but when it comes to the part about the fight, he finds himself claiming that his double started it.

He's not sure why. Perhaps he feels guilty. Cecil isn't usually the sort to attack without provocation – or, indeed, at all – but in the moment, in the vortex, he'd been…

…he'd been so _scared_.

Another him. Another him from some sort of blood-drenched hell.

When the show is over, Cecil sits back, pulling off his headset again and taking a deep breath. He sits in stunned silence for a moment until the door to the studio opens, making him jump, and Dana steps in.

"Dana?" Cecil says, seeing the look of alarm on her face. "Are you all right?"

"Are you?" she replies. "What you said, in the broadcast, about what you found on the other side of that vortex… it sounds _terrifying_."

"It was," Cecil whispers. "It was like nothing I've ever seen before, or would want to see again, and…"

He has to ask. _He has to ask_.

"…Dana, was there… did someone else come through that vortex, when I was gone?"

Dana looks at him and nods. "Yes," she answers. "I was hiding in the booth, and I don't think he saw me, but… yes. A man came through. A man who was identical to you, except… except his _eyes_ , they were…"

"…black as obsidian?"

"…yes. He sounded different, too. I mean, similar, but not the same."

"What did he do?"

"He looked around," Dana answers. "He broadcast for a moment, too. He said his name was Kevin, and that he came from Desert Bluffs, and…"

 _Desert Bluffs?_ Cecil feels his stomach lurch. That terrifying hell was _**Desert Bluffs**?!_

"It's going to be OK," Cecil says, trying to reassure her. Trying to reassure himself. "He's gone, now. Whatever all that was… it's over."

It's over, oh yes. And… it's only just begun.

***

_**ONE YEAR LATER** _

From the day of the sandstorm, Cecil has always found himself terrified by the very notion of Kevin. By the thought of having a double, another him; not a twin or a brother but an _other_.

An other, steeped in blood. Maybe even a road he could have found himself on, had fate seen fit to do things differently.

Cecil still thinks it's a mercy things turned out the way they are. This being said, he really could do without his whole hometown being taken over by Strexcorp. And without having to go on the run by hiding out at _Steve Carlsberg's_ house.

And… by Kevin being in town.

Their first meeting… OK, _re_ -meeting… did not go well. Their second meeting technically went better, though it's a worrying world indeed when watching your double stab two men to death in front of your house qualifies as 'better'.

And things have gone decidedly downhill since then. Night Vale is caught in Strexcorp's grip, a small band of revolutionaries are trying to kick them out with limited success, and there's a _deeply_ worrying door in the square outside the Dog Park.

And oh. Carlos is still in love with Kevin.

Cecil doesn't know how to process this, not quite. It's compounded by the fact that he knows for sure that Carlos _also_ still loves _him_. He doesn't doubt that, not for one second. So… what does it mean that Carlos loves them _both?_

This is something Cecil is still trying to work out.

Only, not right now this moment. Right now this moment, he's standing inside the house that doesn't exist, with Carlos, and they're looking for John Peters (you know, the farmer?) so that he can help fulfil a mystic prophecy about how Night Vale can supposedly be saved.

…It's a long story.

The house is eerily quiet inside, and Cecil can't help being a little unsettled by it. Much as he's wanted – for months – to find out the truth about this place, part of him very much wishes they could have done that from _outside_ it. But, right now, John's evil, orange-wielding double is outside.

So maybe inside is better.

"…This is _creepy_ ," Cecil murmurs, nonetheless.

"Tell me about it," Carlos agrees. "Stay close to me. We don't know what this place might try to do."

And Cecil is more than happy to oblige. He's still trying to recover from spending a night in a Strexcorp prison whilst simultaneously convinced that Carlos might well be dead, and as such he needs even less of an excuse to stay close than he usually does.

The house itself really _is_ creepy. They're currently standing in a long, empty hallway, which looks too large to fit inside the house based on how big the structure seems from the outside. The walls and floor are panelled in smooth wood, hued in a rich, maple colour, and under other circumstances it could be very pleasant, if a little empty.

"This way," Carlos says, softly, gesturing down the passage to a door at the end, off to the left. When they get to the door in question, Cecil pushes it slowly open, and they both step through. The room beyond is much like the hallway: wood-panelled and windowless, and as the door shuts behind them, confusion sets in.

"OK, this place is weird," Cecil says. "There's just… nothing here. Nothing but these photos…"

There are pictures in the room, similar to ones they passed in the hallway: photos of lighthouses – perhaps the same one from different angles – and a few showing old, warped windows. Both men stand and stare at them for a moment, but there's no indication as to why they're here, or what they might mean.

"Which room is John in, anyway?" Cecil asks, eventually, when the mystery of it all starts to get to him.

"Well, that's the thing," Carlos replies, and it's clear from his voice that something is wrong. "From the shape of the house and what we've been able to observe from outside… I thought it was this one."

 _Oh dear_.

"…That doesn't sound good," Cecil says.

"Not good at all," Carlos agrees. "I really would have wanted more time to study this place before risking coming inside, but it's not as though we had a choice. We should… just be careful. I mean really careful. Let's… let's go back into the hall and see if there's another door we missed."

So they go over to the door and open it again, and all at once Cecil finds himself gasping in surprise. There's a hallway beyond, much like the first, but it _isn't_ the first. This one stretches out ahead of them, rather than to the right, and it's hung with several more of those strange lighthouse photos.

"…Merciful Einstein," Carlos breathes. "That's… that's not…"

He shuts the door, and then pauses – perhaps hoping that they haven't just seen what they've clearly seen – before opening the door again.

"…Oh, that's bad," Cecil murmurs. "That's really bad."

It is. There's now _another_ different room lying beyond: this time not a hallway at all, but a small, square space containing a stairway leading downwards.

"What do we do?" Cecil asks, feeling genuinely concerned. "If the rooms change every time we close a door… how do we find John?"

"And moreover, how do we get _out?_ " Carlos adds, shivering. "Maybe we need to start marking the rooms and see if there's any kind of–"

He's cut off in mid-sentence by a sudden sound from downstairs, which echoes up the stairwell towards them: a shout; three words in a language Cecil can't identify.

But spoken by someone who he most certainly _can_ identify.

"…That sounded like _Kevin_ ," Cecil whispers, caught between concern and a strange kind of anger.

It's only fair. Kevin _did_ accost Carlos with a knife, after all. And seduce him into bed. And… other things.

"…Y-yeah…" Carlos manages, sounding highly alarmed. "Maybe we should shut the door again and hope we end up somewhere–"

" _I_ need to have _words_ with that man…" Cecil interjects, before he can stop himself, and he stalks off through the door and down the stairs. Carlos hurries after him, and soon they're both at the bottom of the dimly-lit stairwell and facing another door: a door that's been propped ajar.

Cecil can't see what's inside the room beyond, but there is bright, flickering light glowing through the gap; light that fades before their eyes.

"…We don't need to go in there," Carlos whispers, nigh-on imploringly, and Cecil's heart aches a little at the other man's tone. "Cecil… please…"

But he can't stop now. He shakes his head, gripping Carlos' arm. "I love you," he whispers in reply. "But I have to do this."

And, taking a deep breath, he stalks over to the door and pushes it sharply open.

The room beyond – much like the others they've seen – is wood-panelled, and seems too large to fit inside the house. It's square, and windowless, and unlike the others it's lit by brackets of candles at all four corners. And it's _covered_ in blood. There's a huge ritual circle drawn in charcoal on the floor: a pentagram, with symbols between its five points, and the sight of it reminds Cecil of his younger days rather more than he would like.

There's blood on the walls, too, along with various other symbols and words in a language Cecil can't identify, and he knows it must be some kind of warding, to protect against _whatever_ the room's equally blood-covered occupant has been doing in here.

Said occupant turns at once, the moment he hears them step in, holding his silver-bladed knife out in front of him in a way that looks oddly defensive.

"You?!" Kevin exclaims, seeming genuinely surprised at the sight of them. He lowers his knife, and Cecil can't help wondering who he expected it to be, if not them. And… why that prospect would alarm the other man so much.

No. No. Focus. Focus, and act, before he loses his momentum.

Which is why Cecil immediately steps closer to Kevin and slaps him roughly across the jaw, for the second time in recent days.

" _You_ ," he growls. "Did I not tell you to stay away from my boyfriend?!"

Kevin backs off at once, raising his knife again. " _He_ called _me_ ," he hisses, glaring at Carlos for a moment before – perhaps wisely – turning his attention to Cecil once more.

And he still looks so concerned. Maybe even afraid. And Cecil wonders why, because – despite there being one of him and two of them – Kevin really has the upper-hand here.

Still trying not to lose momentum, Cecil folds his arms. "I think you are failing to notice the part where these things happen because _you_ wind my Carlos up in the first place, Kevin!"

Because he does. And it works.

"I think _you_ are failing to notice the part where your Carlos has _tastes_ , Cecil," Kevin retorts.

Damn the man for his insight. And his prior experience. And for being right.

Carlos blushes a great deal. "Will the two of you stop?!" he exclaims.

…and oh, but that tone of voice is so very telling, and these thoughts do not help right now.

"I'm not done with him yet!" Cecil replies, glaring at Kevin some more, and that makes Kevin look…

…OK, masters of us all, _what?!_

It makes Kevin look _drawn_. And, this time, not to Carlos. And that's just… that's… just…

… _don't lose momentum!_

"And not only did you _seduce_ my Carlos," Cecil goes on, trying not to sound anything other than angry, "you then proceeded to _betray_ him to Strexcorp!"

"So that he could rescue _you!_ " Kevin retorts, sounding very affronted. "I slipped Carlos the key right before the enforcers grabbed him and then made sure they locked him up with you. Do you know how hard it is to get hold of one of those keys? What I had to _do?_ "

Something about his tone at this hits Cecil hard. Under normal circumstances, he'd assume that 'what I had to do' means 'kill a lot of people'. But… no. This is different. And that's a strange kind of unsettling.

"And it worked, didn't it?" Kevin goes on. "You got out faster than I expected! The sun hadn't even risen before the enforcers were going _ballistic_ and the Management Board was calling people in to give them severance packages!"

"…I don't want to know what constitutes a severance package in Strexcorp, do I?" Carlos murmurs, voicing the same thought that Cecil is having right now.

"No, Carlos, you don't," Kevin replies, flatly. "If I told you, you'd do that thing where you flip out and run off again, and I don't know how much more of that I can take."

It… must hurt him, Cecil realises, even though he's still angry, and even though Kevin shouldn't get a free pass on this one because Carlos is _Cecil's_ boyfriend. But, at the same time… he can see how it would hurt.

"And now," Cecil cuts back in, still trying not to lose momentum, "now you're in the house that doesn't exist, doing…"

He looks around the room, gesturing widely at it, not entirely sure how to put all of this into words. Especially without giving away the fact that he may have a little prior experience in this field, because that's not a conversation he wants to have with Kevin _or_ Carlos any time soon.

"Just what _are_ you doing?" Cecil settles on.

There's an odd pause before Kevin answers, and his tone is all kinds of weird and defensive when he does.

"If you _must_ know, I was performing a very ancient and powerful ritual," he says. "It wasn't easy and it's a good thing you didn't interrupt sooner, because you don't want to know what side-effects that might have caused."

Ancient and powerful? And requiring _this_ much warding?

"What kind of ancient and powerful ritual?" Cecil demands.

"It's _personal_ ," Kevin insists. "If you must know, I was communing with my demon."

Ah yes. The demon he's apparently soul-bound to. Because _that's_ safe.

"And you needed to break into the house that doesn't exist to do that?" Carlos asks.

"I didn't break in, I have a key," Kevin replies, and pulls one from beneath his shirt – where it's hanging around his neck – so that they can both see. It looks just like the one he slipped to Carlos, and given what _that_ key could open, it certainly explains how he got in here.

"And yes," Kevin goes on, "I needed to do it here. I needed to do it somewhere that _no one_ would be able to detect. Where better than in the basement of a non-existent house?"

"…Why?" Carlos asks, suspiciously, which is a sentiment Cecil shares.

"Because it's _private_ ," Kevin reiterates, flatly.

Why won't he tell them? Just what did he _do?_ And, moreover, why is he trying to hide it from Strexcorp? Because… it's clear that he is.

"And where did all the blood come from?" Cecil demands, which is a fair question, and plus it's always easy to look and sound unimpressed when it comes to something like this. "Have you been murdering people again? There had better not be bodies in the closet."

This is also a fair question. And a genuine concern. Especially considering that Kevin still has his knife drawn.

Kevin sighs. "There isn't a closet in here," he points out, in that same, flat tone. "And the blood came from the Fourth Infernal Plane. There's a _lot_ of blood on the Fourth Infernal Plane and it tends to seep through if you try to hold a gateway open for longer than a couple of seconds."

Well, there's a lovely mental image. And… OK, hold on…

"You were holding open a gateway to the Fourth Infernal Plane?!" Cecil exclaims, looking stunned, and aware that this question itself gives away more than he'd like.

Luckily, neither Kevin nor Carlos seems to notice.

"I _told_ you, I was _communing with my demon!_ " Kevin replies, his voice going somewhat high-pitched with what sounds very much like frustration.

"Will you both _stop?!_ " Carlos exclaims.

The other man can be surprisingly sharp when he wants to be, though Cecil knows there's an argument for saying he deserves it right now. And Kevin _definitely_ deserves it. Even so, the silence that follows is particularly uncomfortable.

"…Better," Carlos says, eventually. "Now. I think we need to discuss this sensibly and rationally and using our _indoor_ voices."

"What is there to discuss?" Kevin asks, his own tone immediately switching to calm and cheery, which is much more like he sounds on the radio. Which… Cecil has heard rather a lot in recent days.

For _opposition research_. Obviously. And… not anything else.

Not wondering just how much of what Kevin says is true. Including how he feels about things. Like Strexcorp. And certainly not wondering if the other man is in fact in terrible danger and trying desperately to get out of it without anyone realising.

Because… Cecil knows what it's like to work for Strexcorp. To have every word of his broadcasts vetted and monitored. He only had to put up with it for a few months, but if it had gone on for years…

…would he have ended up like Kevin? Hiding the truth behind an unaffected, cheery veneer?

The thought makes him shiver, and he hopes the other two don't notice.

"I assume you're here for John Peters?" Kevin goes on, which helpfully focuses Cecil's mind again. Apparently he needs that a lot today.

"That's right," Cecil replies. "So we can save the town from your maniac employers."

" _Unfortunately_ ," Carlos cuts across, seemingly trying to keep the conversation on track, "this house seems to defy physics on an alarming scale."

"Oh, _that?_ " Kevin says, with a little wave, before finally slipping his knife away whilst giving Cecil a look that… what does that look even _mean?_ "That's just one of its little quirks."

"You've been here before?" Carlos asks in surprise.

Kevin shrugs. "Several times, since I came to town. It reminds me of the house I grew up in… and I _miss_ Desert Bluffs, you know. Even though Night Vale is lovely too. Plus, sometimes I need to go somewhere… _off the grid_."

"Wait… this is where you wanted to bring us that day?" Cecil asks, in surprise.

"That's right," Kevin replies. "You're just lucky they're not paying undivided attention to you, or they would have realised you were staying with _your own sister_ ages ago. It isn't exactly _covert_ , Cecil."

…that's harsh. And maybe a little true. But mostly harsh. And the other man needs to stop having a point because it makes this conversation even more difficult than it already is.

"Worked though, didn't it?" Cecil retorts.

Kevin gives him a flat look. "Yes. It worked. Someday I'll tell you where I hid all the bodies to make _sure_ it worked…"

And, from his tone, he's deadly serious about the bodies. Plural. And… wait, he's hiding bodies to protect _them?_

Carlos rubs a hand over his eyes. "I don't want to know," he murmurs in alarm. "I don't want to know…"

It would really help to _not_ be having this conversation in a room covered in blood. And _then_ , perhaps mercifully, a helpful realisation dawns.

"So if you've been here before," Cecil says, "you must know the way out."

Kevin smiles. "That's right," he says, smoothly. "I know where John Peters is too. I could take you to him, if you'd like…"

"Yes," Cecil replies. "That would help matters along."

And that makes Kevin's smile brighten considerably. "Say _please_."

" _Now_ ," Cecil demands, with quite a glare.

"You want my help, you're going to have to be nice to me for once," Kevin says, flatly. "Otherwise, good luck trying to get out of this place, never mind locate the farmer you know…"

Cecil glares more, and instinct makes him take a step closer to his double, so that they're face to face, and you could definitely be forgiven for thinking a fight was about to break out. Or… or something else… "I do _not_ have to be nice to you," he retorts.

And that's when Carlos moves. All of a sudden, he steps quickly between the two of them, so he has Cecil right behind him and Kevin right in front, and _wow_ but that's…

…that's…

" _Please_ ," Carlos says.

And Cecil feels a shiver run through him, not of alarm but of _want_ , and all of a sudden he can't quite breathe. Because… it isn't just Carlos that he wants right now, and…

…what does it even mean that he's _thinking_ these things?

"…All right," Kevin replies, putting a hand on Carlos' arm, just as Cecil puts a hand on Carlos' waist, and Cecil can feel the way Carlos' breath catches when they're both – for an instant – touching him at once.

 _And Cecil likes it_.

This is getting more complicated by the second, and Cecil _badly_ needs to focus.

And then, perhaps mercifully, Kevin steps back. "Come along, then," he says, bright and cheery once more. "We just need to head upstairs and I'll show you where…"

He turns to the door, which has fallen shut in the commotion, and sighs in exasperation. "… _Seriously?_ I prop the door open and you just let it close without even stopping to think why I might do something like that?"

"I had other things on my mind!" Cecil replies at once, aware of how defensive he sounds. Because he really _should_ have realised.

Kevin folds his arms. "Evidently! This might take somewhat longer now. I hope you're happy."

" _Euphoric_ ," Cecil answers, dryly, because apparently all those months of working under Strexcorp have made him surprisingly good at sounding one thing whilst feeling another.

Shaking his head, Kevin paces over to the door and pushes it open. Beyond, there is a long, thin passageway with another lone door at the far end, and something about it is deeply ominous.

"…Yeah, we don't want to go down there," Kevin manages.

"Why not?" Cecil asks.

"Well, you know before when we were talking about bodies..?"

"Yes?"

"…We don't want to go down there."

Well, there's a whole new set of mental images that Cecil could have done without.

Clearly of a similar mind, Carlos shudders visibly. "This house was an important scientific curiosity!" he exclaims. "Please tell me you haven't filled it with bodies?"

"…Not all of it…"

This is not helping. Cecil reaches to shut the door, pauses for a few seconds, and then opens it again. This time there is a stairwell beyond: brightly-lit, and leading down.

"…I thought we were in the basement?" Carlos says.

Kevin sighs. "We were," he answers. "But you shut the door. When you shut the door, the house has a tendency to… reorganise itself. It can do that, you see, because it doesn't actually exist."

"So how do we get out?" Cecil asks.

"You keep the doors propped open!" Kevin exclaims. "Though as a last resort, you can also bring along someone who has explored the house at length before. Which, in this case, would be me. So stay close and _don't_ touch any doors without asking me first!"

This gets him another glare from Cecil, which he deserves. Carlos, meanwhile, just shuts his eyes for a moment, and Cecil is sure the other man is silently counting to ten in his head.

"…He's adorable when he does that, isn't he?" Kevin says to Cecil, and that's all kinds of weird; not just because he knows, but because he's right.

Opting not to reply at all – given that it's probably safer right now – Cecil just glares a little more. Kevin merely flashes him a bright smile and then leads the way through the door, gesturing for both of them to follow him.

Oh, this is going to be an experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're one of my regular readers, it may not have escaped your attention that I'm a little obsessed with that scene in the house that doesn't exist! It remains one of my favourites in the whole of Chiralityverse, both for how pivotal it is, and for how different it feels depending on whose head you're seeing it from.
> 
> Incidentally, you get it from Carlos' POV in [On the Nature of Love and Chirality](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1708196), and from Kevin's in [Do I Wanna Know?](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12692280)


	2. Maybe You'll Feel It Too

The three of them don't talk much as they make their way through the house that doesn't exist. It's obvious that Carlos is fascinated by the place, and would like more time to investigate it, but there's no time for that right now, and he knows it.

Cecil himself is trying to work out what the heck is going on with Kevin. Because _something_ is, and it's _weird_ , and also there's the part where Cecil keeps having these flashes of images that…

…that aren't helpful. And he doesn't know where they're coming from. And… and why is some part of him _concerned_ about the other man? Not concerned _by_ , either, but concerned _for_.

Eventually – mercifully – they reach a passage where the door at the end is propped open, with a little sun chalked on the wall beside it. Kevin breaks into a smile at the sight, and Cecil can't help thinking that at least part of it is from relief.

"Aha, thank goodness," Kevin says, bouncing on his heels. "This way."

The room beyond is a hallway: the entrance hallway of the house, with the front door directly opposite. Daylight is glowing through the crack underneath; vibrant and… weirdly orange?

Odd.

"Is that the front door?" Carlos asks.

"Yep!" Kevin replies, in a bright tone that is most _assuredly_ cover for something he's not saying. "Told you."

"What about John Peters?" Cecil pushes. "You know, the farmer?"

Kevin pats him on the arm, and Cecil glares at him almost automatically, without really thinking about it, and immediately feels a weird flash of guilt about doing so.

"As if I'd forget something so important," Kevin answers. "Follow me."

He heads over to a door off to the left, and knocks three times. And… OK, that's new, why is he knocking?

"…What are you doing?" Carlos asks, intrigued.

"Well, sometimes it's easier to travel through these particular doors if there's someone on the other side to open them for you," Kevin explains. "That way, you end up where you wanted to be. Plus, John is trapped in a _very_ odd little time loop that doesn't even fit with the logic of the rest of the house. If you don't get him to let you in, but you manage to find the room where he is anyway… you sort of end up there but not there. OK, no, it's more that _he's_ there but not there. You can see him but he can't see you, and you can't make any kind of physical contact."

"…You have spent way too much time in this place," Carlos mutters.

"Actually not as long as you think," Kevin tells him. "Time doesn't run at the same speed in here as it does out in the world. From what I can tell… it's about eight times faster inside the house." He beams, looking pleased with himself. "Are you impressed?"

"'Deeply concerned' would be closer," Carlos replies. "So for every minute that passes on the outside, eight minutes pass in here?"

Kevin nods. "Roughly speaking, yes. Not for John, though. I can't even begin to fathom how it works for John."

OK, now it's getting a little worrying. "And you wanted us to _hide out_ in this place?" Cecil says.

"Sure I did," Kevin answers, as if this was a perfectly normal thing to suggest. "Think how much you could get done if time outside is passing so much slower. How much you could have _planned_."

…he has _seriously_ been up to something in here, hasn't he? Cecil can't help wishing he knew what it was.

"…Also time doesn't exist," Carlos adds. "So exactly what all this is… I don't know."

Kevin's smile doesn't fade. "Probably best not to ask," he suggests.

Carlos gives him a flat look. "I'm a scientist. I can't _not_ ask."

This gets him a very similar look in return, which Cecil finds all kinds of confusing, and then Kevin turns back to the door and knocks on it again. And, this time, within a few seconds he's gotten three knocks in reply, right before the door opens from the other side.

Beyond is a room like many of the others: wood-panelled, and hung with photographs of lighthouses and the occasional window. But this one contains a person, too: a man, dressed in slightly-clashing plaid and wearing a straw hat, looking surprised.

"…What the heck is going on?" asks John Peters.

It's him. Cecil feels a sudden rush of relief. "John!" he exclaims. "That's really you, isn't it?"

John shrugs. "Near as I can tell. And that's you, as opposed to… you know, _him?_ "

Kevin rolls his eyes. "I am standing right here! And I just brought these two to rescue you, so you could at least be civil!"

"Civil?" John repeats. "With a guy from Desert Bluffs? Please!"

This gets him quite a glower from Kevin, though the other man doesn't actually say anything.

"Where'd you go, anyway?" John now asks Kevin, very suspiciously. "I've been waiting in here nearly ten minutes!"

Ten _minutes?_

"Uh, no," Kevin tells him, "you've been waiting in there nearly ten _days_ , in outside time at least. And from what I hear, you've been in this house rather longer."

John looks confused.

"…Time doesn't exist, remember," Carlos points out, helpfully.

"…Yes, that," Cecil agrees. "We'll go with that." Because it's probably easier than trying to work out what's _actually_ going on in this insane place. Right now he's just glad that they've been able to find John at all. With… you know. With help.

Carlos turns to John. "We need to get you out of here," he says. "Will you come with us?"

"I can't," John replies. "Not until I've figured out what these photographs mean."

Another good question. Especially because Cecil feels _very_ weird every time he looks at any of the pictures of that lighthouse. Though they can't risk pausing to consider it now.

"But you've been in here for months!" he exclaims. "And we need you out in town as soon as possible!"

"Months?" John repeats. "Really? It doesn't feel like months."

"Not to you, it doesn't," Carlos says. "But it is."

And that's when Kevin takes a deep breath, speaking without quite meeting anyone's eyes. "…Look, maybe this would be a lot easier if I just showed you…" he says.

"Showed us?" John echoes, tone still suspicious.

"Yes," Kevin replies. "Come on."

And he leads the three of them into the hall, towards that slightly-glowing front door, and Cecil feels odd when he looks at it now. As if there's something he's missed, like his eyes have previously been gliding over it and only now is he actually _seeing_.

"The thing with this house," Kevin starts off, "is that the doors like to lead to different places, on account of not actually existing. The doors inside can lead to any one of dozens of rooms inside the house. The doors leading out – both the front and the back – can lead to any one of about five external locations; all places where the house doesn't exist. Night Vale is the main one and, more often than not, they'll lead you out into the Desert Creek development, but occasionally… occasionally they go somewhere else. And at least a couple of them are… well, let me show you…"

He takes a deep breath, resting one hand on the hilt of his sheathed knife, and Cecil is struck by the realisation that the other man is clearly, utterly terrified; the kind of soul-deep terror that can't be hidden or denied, and cuts to the core.

And _that_ makes Cecil's chest ache in a way he isn't prepared for.

Kevin steps up to the door, grasping the handle with his free hand, and pulling it open just enough to let him peer out through the crack.

"…Ah," he murmurs, tone heavy as lead, "right one first time…"

And, with another deep breath, Kevin pulls the door open wide, and at once the hallway fills with light: a harsh, oppressive, almost _violent_ light that seems to push painfully against everything it touches.

"…What _is_ that?" Cecil exclaims, shielding his eyes with his hand.

"Just look," Kevin replies, voice now completely flat, as if there simply aren't words to say what he actually needs to say.

Beyond the door is a vast, empty desert, with a mountain at its centre and a blinking light atop the mountain: Josie's desert. _Dana's_ desert. And that blinking light… Cecil knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that it's coming from the lighthouse, shining intermittent red into the endless openness of the landscape beyond.

But Cecil only has a few seconds to take it all in before all of his attention is on the _other_ light; the light beyond the mountain, on the horizon: a pervasive, permeating light that seems to cut right to his soul. It is **terrible**. And… it is _beautiful_.

"That's the lighthouse!" John exclaims, no doubt understanding the same way Cecil suddenly does. "Up there, on the mountain. The lighthouse is… a beacon? A warning?"

"That's what lighthouses are," Kevin replies, tone still frighteningly flat.

"What is that light?" Cecil asks, because he has to, even though he's sure he doesn't want to know.

"That's what the lighthouse is warning against," Kevin replies. "It is a light. A presence. It insists, it conquers, it _devours_ … It is a Smiling God. _The_ Smiling God. The Smiling God in which we all must believe."

Cecil goes cold, right to the core. The Smiling God? The Smiling God is _real?_ And… **there**?

"It's… brighter than it was before…" Cecil manages, because it is. Noticeably so.

"I know," Kevin replies. "It's almost ready."

"…Ready?" John repeats, voice hollow.

"Oh yes," Kevin answers. "Ready. Ready to open the unopening door and cross over… to find a new town to devour…"

Cecil is starting to understand. He's starting to understand things that his mind has tried to avoid for a long time, and still wants to avoid now, but… it can't. _He_ can't.

_We were, all of us… all the same, to begin with_.

Because they were, weren't they? Night Vale and Desert Bluffs. They were two similar, normal towns – OK, normal _ish_ – and then… then Strexcorp came to Desert Bluffs. Then the _Smiling God_ came. And now…

Cecil shivers. They can't let the same thing happen to Night Vale. They _can't_.

Kevin pushes the door shut again after another moment, leaving them all in sudden, welcome dimness.

"We need you to help stop it," Cecil says to John, because they do, and because it means he doesn't have to think about everything else just yet. "Please."

John looks as rattled as Cecil feels. "Say no more," he agrees. "Let's go."

Clearly in agreement, Kevin tries the door again, opening it part-way and peering out. Cecil catches a glimpse of trees for a second, but before he can question it, Kevin has shut the door with a shake of his head.

"No good?" Carlos asks.

"No. Forest. I don't like that forest, it talks to me."

Probably best to avoid it, then. Talking forests are rarely good news.

The second time Kevin opens the door, he peers out and then pulls it wide open, to reveal the Desert Creek development, bathed in gloriously _normal_ sunshine. At the far end of the front garden, the group of Carlos' scientists are still clustered around their van, in the middle of running various tests. And, mercifully, there's no sign of John's probably-evil double.

The scientists look over in surprise as the four men come walking out of the house and down towards them. Frederick gives a little whoop of triumph, whilst Vincent and Hayley both shriek in alarm and leap inside the van.

Toby and Arlene, meanwhile, exchange a glance and grip hands, before pacing cautiously closer to meet them.

"…T-that was quick," Toby says, unable to take his eyes off Kevin. "You've only been gone a few moments. I… guessed you must have gotten inside when that guy who was chasing you came around the house again and then ran off."

"What guy?" Kevin asks at once, and maybe they should have mentioned the part about John's double to him a little sooner.

Toby backs away, looking like he wants to hide behind Arlene. "There was a guy," he manages. "He looked… well, he looked just like you," and he gestures to John. "But he wasn't you."

"Oh, that must have been James Paulson," Kevin replies, seeming unfazed. "The farmer, you know? He's John's double from over my way. Grows simply _sublime_ oranges."

And he's mentioning those deadly things why, exactly?

"He attacked us!" Cecil exclaims. "He's the one who chased us inside in the first place!"

"…I do hope he wasn't looking for me," Kevin remarks, suddenly back in that weirdly-level tone that makes Cecil think there's a _lot_ going on that Kevin isn't saying. "That would be a bad sign. Not that it's going to make much of a difference before long…"

He pauses, his bright smile returning, and now Cecil is absolutely _sure_ his double is only doing it to hide what's really going on. And that's… confusing. "Well, this certainly has been fun. I have… places I should be, and no doubt you lot have a great deal of subversive planning to get on with. So… I'll see you at the end…"

And, with one last, lingering look at both Carlos _and_ Cecil, Kevin turns and heads off, walking away down the road to a car parked on the curbside, humming to himself as he goes. He seems so calm. So at ease. So nonchalant.

But it's all a lie, isn't it? Cecil doesn't know why he didn't see it sooner, but now he has it's blatantly, glaringly, _painfully_ obvious. There's something _huge_ going on and Kevin is right in the middle of it, and whatever it is, it has him scared out of his mind.

And some strange, hitherto silent part of Cecil… wants to help.

And it's _weird_.

And, at the same time… it's not weird at all.

"…That guy was identical to you!" Arlene finally manages, staring at Cecil in shock, which helpfully pulls his mind back to the moment. "And covered in blood! What happened in there?!"

"Long story," Cecil manages. "We probably shouldn't hang around out in the open."

"Yeah," John agrees. "Plus I think you have some stuff to fill me in on."

"Oh, you have no idea," Carlos replies, and then he turns to the other scientists. "You guys should get out of here and lay low. Seriously. There will probably be yellow helicopters overhead before long."

"All right," Toby agrees. "You… you want us to come with you?"

"No," Carlos says, voice shaking a little. "No. Just… just stay somewhere safe. Especially tomorrow. Don't come near that door outside the Dog Park tomorrow."

Toby takes a step forward, putting a cautious hand on Carlos' arm. "Carlos," he says, "tomorrow we fight for Night Vale. We're going to be there. This is our _home_."

Carlos manages a nod. "All right," he says, voice cracking a little. "Just… just be careful?"

The weight of the moment is suddenly palpable. They're all in terrible danger.

And tomorrow, one way or another… the end is coming.

And Cecil can't help thinking that Kevin's part in it all isn't done yet.

***

In the square outside the Dog Park, where the Battle of Night Vale has just – mercifully – drawn to a close, there's a bright flash of light as Azatothoth the Bloodthirsty disappears.

Azatothoth the Bloodthirsty. Trust Kevin to be soul-bound to a demon called _Azatothoth the Bloodthirsty!_

It's hard to take issue with the fact, though, given that the demon saved all their lives, and managed to kill Strexcorp's CEO – Derek Hartley – in the process.

Cecil did _not_ like that man one bit. The mere sight of him made his blood go cold, and the way he looked at Kevin was all _kinds_ of wrong, and it made Cecil want to… _do something about it_.

His mind is racing right now. And, at the same time… it's so very still and sure.

Kevin himself is barely standing, and only doing so at all because Cecil and Carlos are either side of him, keeping him upright. He is, however, no longer bleeding to death from the vicious knife-wound to the side that his former boss left him with, given that Dana used some kind of otherworldly power to heal him, and Cecil can't put into words how relieved he is.

Nothing sharpens the mind like thinking someone might be about to die. And the way Cecil feels about Kevin… it all makes so much sense now. He's just not quite sure how to act on it yet.

Although… why it seems to take near-death experiences to _make_ these things make sense, he isn't sure.

Kevin, meanwhile, is still staring somewhat deliriously in the direction his demon was standing, before he vanished.

"I really do like that guy," he murmurs. "He's so helpful."

"…He's soul-bound to you," Cecil reminds him.

"Yeah," Kevin agrees. "Think I might pass out now."

"Don't you dare," Carlos says.

But he does.

Luckily, both Cecil and Carlos still have a firm enough hold on the man between them that he doesn't drop straight to the floor at that. They lower him carefully down, Carlos moving to rest Kevin's head on his knee, gently touching his neck to check his pulse.

"He's all right," he says, albeit shakily. "He's just unconscious."

"We need to take him somewhere safe," Cecil points out.

"I… I know," Carlos replies, looking so very nervous. "We… I mean… We could…"

Cecil understands. Cecil understands in a way that is new and unfamiliar and completely undeniable. And… not at all unwelcome.

Carlos cares about Kevin. He cares desperately and agonisingly, and he has no idea what to do about it. And… maybe Cecil has a solution. But they have to think about the practicalities first.

"We'll take him back to our place," he says, and Carlos now looks ridiculously grateful, and more than a little surprised.

"You're… you're sure?" Carlos replies.

"Yes," Cecil answers, and he is. Oh yes, he suddenly is. "He'll be safe there. We don't want any of Strex's people coming after him."

"That won't be a problem for long," Dana cuts in, gently. "Leave that to us. We'll make sure they're cleared out of town."

Cecil smiles. He's so happy Dana made it back. So very happy. There's never been an intern like her, after all.

"All right," Cecil replies. "We'll take Kevin home."

Cecil's heart is adamant about this. They're taking him with them. They're taking him somewhere safe, and Strex won't touch him again. And… then the three of them can deal with everything _else_.

***

They do still have certain practicalities to worry about. Or, more bluntly, they're all covered in rather a lot of blood.

Kevin is covered in the most, given that he was fighting in close-quarters for a while before he was stabbed. And, of course, there's the stabbing part itself, because whilst his wound has been completely healed, he's still covered in quite a lot of his _own_ blood.

And so, once they've laid Kevin carefully on the couch, Cecil all but chases Carlos into the shower, and then starts dealing with Kevin as best he can. The other man doesn't wake, but sometimes he murmurs softly, and Cecil wonders if his double is dreaming.

By the time Carlos emerges, Cecil has gotten most of the blood off Kevin, and he's grateful for the chance to scramble into the shower himself, leaving Carlos to keep an eye on their still-unconscious guest. When he finally paces back into the living room, feeling _very_ much better, he finds Carlos kneeling at Kevin's side, holding his hand.

And Cecil's heart aches. Not with jealousy, oh no, but with something good, and so very much deeper. He can see just how desperately Carlos still loves the other man, and he can only imagine what it must have been like to leave him. Or… what it must have been like for Kevin, to lose someone who loved him so much.

Cecil wants the pain to stop. He wants the pain to stop for _both of them_.

"Any change?" he asks, softly, as he walks back into the room.

Carlos looks round. His eyes are full of confliction and _fear_ and it's clear that he has no idea what to do. Or what's about to happen.

"No," he replies, very softly. "No change. He's still out."

Cecil paces closer, resting a gentle hand on Carlos' shoulder, and he can feel the way his boyfriend jumps at that, and his own heart aches all the more.

"He'll be fine," Cecil says, trying to be reassuring. "I think he just needs some time to rest. He did… go through a lot."

This is quite an understatement. Kevin betrayed his employers _very_ publicly, fought in a particularly violent battle, and almost got stabbed to death. And that's saying nothing about the part where he's been exiled from Desert Bluffs, and Cecil knows just how agonising that must be.

And he did it all for them, didn't he? He did all that for them.

"…Worth it in the end, though…" the man on the couch murmurs, and slowly, Kevin blinks his eyes open, looking blearily up at them. "…Hey…" he says.

The rush of relief at that is palpable. And now, Cecil knows for sure what needs to come next. He grips Carlos' shoulder a little tighter, trying to keep his own emotions level.

"Hey yourself," Carlos manages, his voice shaking.

"How are you feeling?" Cecil asks.

"…Like I just survived getting fired…" Kevin replies. "I… whoa, my head feels _weird_ … I… wait, where am I?"

"Our place," Carlos replies.

Kevin stares at him. "…You brought me home?"

"Had to take you someplace safe," Cecil answers. "Those strange masked warriors are still helping the Secret Police clear the last of the Strex personnel out of town, and we didn't want your old employers trying anything."

"Ah… good… good thinking," Kevin agrees, clearly surprised. "I… thanks for that. You didn't have to…"

"Of course we did," Cecil insists. "You saved our lives. And…"

The other man looks so insanely grateful, and something about that hits hard, and deep. And… Cecil is going to do this. He's going to do this, because he _knows_ it's right, and because he knows he _wants it_ , and because right now… right now he wants to wrap Kevin in his arms and tell him that it's going to be OK.

And make it so that no one ever hurts him again. _Ever_.

"…Carlos, can I speak to you for a moment?" Cecil asks, which makes Carlos jump visibly, and Cecil feels guilty for that. But… he needs to do this part first.

"Sure," Carlos agrees, his voice shaking even harder. "We'll be right back," he tells Kevin, and then lets go of his hand, scrambling to his feet, and following Cecil through into the kitchen.

When they're alone, Carlos wraps both arms around himself defensively, clearly not knowing what to do, and that makes Cecil's heart ache too.

"We need to talk," he starts out, softly.

"I know," Carlos manages. "Cecil, I… I…"

"You love him," Cecil says.

"I… Cecil, I love _you_ ," Carlos insists, desperately. "I love you with all that I am."

Cecil adores him for that, even more than usual. He must be in agony, caught between them like this, and Cecil… Cecil wishes he'd worked out what he himself thought – and wanted – rather sooner, because the idea of putting Carlos through all this is suddenly a little horrifying. But… he's about to fix it. Hopefully.

"I know you do," Cecil replies. "And you also love him. One doesn't necessarily rule out the other. They can both be true."

Because they can. He has no doubt that Carlos loves him. And he has no doubt that Carlos loves Kevin, too. And those loves can be as strong as each other, without either being diminished.

And if it's OK for Carlos… it's OK for Cecil, too. Isn't it? To maybe… want… _both of them?_

"I… I know," Carlos concedes, "but…"

Cecil takes a step closer, and Carlos looks almost afraid at that, and it's quite a relief to pull him in close, wrapping him into a tight hug, still slowly trying to work out how to show him that it's OK. That all of this is _more_ than OK.

"I'm sorry," Carlos whispers. "I'm so, so sorry. I wish I could just… _decide_. And… and…"

No more hesitating. Time to do this.

"I… may have another solution," Cecil starts out, and that makes Carlos jump back in surprise, staring at him.

"You… you do?" he manages to say.

"Yes," Cecil answers. "I don't know if it would work, though. I'd… need to see what Kevin thinks."

"…You could just ask me," comes a soft voice from the doorway.

…and oh, but that couldn't have been better timed if Cecil had actually planned it.

They both turn to see Kevin standing in the doorway. He looks so different right now: still dishevelled from the battle, and slightly hazy from the unconsciousness, and so lost and hopeful in equal measure.

And Cecil is _sure_.

"What are you going to do now?" he says to Kevin.

"I… don't know," his double admits. "I… all my life I've known, and now… now it's all come crashing down. I don't regret a thing, but… I can't ever go home. I don't even know where I _will_ go."

He must be terrified. Well. Time to put a stop to that.

"Why do you have to go anywhere?" Cecil asks, pacing slowly closer to the other man; the man who is him but not him, and who he desperately wants to save. And… desperately _wants_. "You don't have to. You could stay here."

"Stay here?" Kevin whispers, broken and hopeful and clearly, so clearly, also in love with them both.

"Yes," Cecil answers, level and sure and _doing this_. "Stay here. With _us_."

Sometimes you have to take the initiative. So he does. He reaches out all at once, grabs hold of Kevin and pulls him in to kiss… and the instant he does, it's like _everything_ makes sudden, perfect sense.

His double feels amazing. Absolutely, undeniably amazing. He's clearly shocked out of his mind, but in a _very_ good way, and as the kiss breaks Kevin looks like he's about to drop to the floor again.

Their eyes meet, and Cecil feels as though he's seeing the other man in a way he never has before. Kevin still looks stunned, and Carlos… Carlos is watching them both like he just won the entire multiverse.

Yes. _Yes_.

Cecil reaches over, grabs hold of Carlos, and pulls him in between the two of them, so he's facing Kevin with Cecil right behind him, just like the previous day, in the house that doesn't exist.

But _this_ house _does_ exist. And all three of them belong in it.

Kevin kisses Carlos. _Hard_. And all Cecil feels, at the sight, is joy. Absolute, undeniable, joy. No jealousy. No uncertainty. Nothing but happiness. He revels in the way they both look for a few seconds, and then wraps around Carlos from behind, holding on to him and Kevin at the same time, and it's _wonderful_. The air feels almost electric with it, with the most powerful sense of _right_ , and Cecil knows he could live in this moment forever.

Or… he could make it even _better_.

" _Please_ ," Carlos gasps, sounding _gloriously_ wrecked. " _Please_."

" _Anything for you_ ," Cecil and Kevin both whisper, one in each ear, in perfect unison, and _wow_ but that's fun. And it just… works, and he understands, and he knows Kevin does too.

They both start kissing Carlos' neck, one on each side, and it's no surprise that Kevin _also_ knows how effective this can be at getting Carlos' knees to buckle. Which they actually _do_ after a moment, though helpfully both doubles have firm hold of him, and they catch him before he can fall.

It's another moment before they all finally manage to pause, and Kevin stares at the two of them, looking like he's never been so happy in his whole life. "…You really mean it…" he whispers.

"We really mean it," Cecil replies, smiling.

"Merciful _Einstein_ , yes," Carlos manages.

"We… should…" Kevin starts out, and then hesitates, evidently worried he's pushing his luck. And it's all kinds of adorable. And Cecil only needs to wind him up about it a tiny bit. Affectionately.

"Bedroom," he says, understanding. And very much agreeing. "I think you already know where it is."

Kevin actually blushes at that, which would do away with any lingering doubts about all this, if they weren't already long gone.

Bedroom. Yes. All three of them.

_Now_.

And if the kissing was a good idea, it's nothing compared to what comes next.

***

It's been an incredible day.

With Night Vale finally free from Strex's grip, life is starting to go back to normal for most people. For Cecil, though, so much is different now.

And it's wonderful.

He's very, very relieved when Station Management re-takes control of the radio station, and quickly offer Cecil his job back, but he's delighted when they also offer Kevin a job as well.

Both of them. Both of them, on the radio together. Something about that just seems so _right_. And, after their first show, Cecil can't quite believe how much fun it was.

Afternoon soon gives way to evening, and eventually Cecil is settled on the couch in their living room, with both of his boyfriends curled in next to him.

_Both of his boyfriends_. In some ways it's a lot to process, and in other ways it just _works_ and Cecil isn't quite sure why it took him so long to realise that this is what he wanted.

Because it is. And whilst he's quite used to having Carlos curled against his side, it's a new experience having Kevin there too. He knows his double is still a little hesitant about all this – not because he doesn't want it, but because he doesn't quite know how he fits in just yet – but that's OK. It _is_ a huge thing to process, after all, and plus Kevin has a lot to deal with on top of it.

He's been through so much, Cecil can tell, despite not yet knowing the specifics. And underneath that calm, effortlessly cheery exterior, Cecil knows Kevin is still in shock.

But he's safe now. Safe and _wanted_. And the more they help him see that, the easier everything else will get.

The three of them sit curled on the couch for some time. They finish the documentary they're watching – an exposé on the Svitzian Monolith Scandal of '99, which leaves no doubt that the authorities really _did_ know what was going on – before moving onto one about some insane entrepreneur in the Fifties who supposedly tried to create an army of human-mantis hybrids.

Which is, frankly, a little outlandish. _Everyone_ knows it was human- _lizard_ hybrids.

As the second documentary comes to a close, the general consensus is that they should go to bed, and _that's_ when Kevin starts to look nervous again. Or, he does if you happen to be his double, and therefore apparently notice things that are otherwise hard to spot (and guiltily wish you'd realised as much a lot sooner).

But Cecil doesn't comment, not at first… not until they're all ready for bed and about to lie down together, and he can see the hesitation in his double's dark eyes. And it's understandable – of course it is, given that he's been invited in by two people who were already in a committed relationship – but at the same time Cecil's heart aches to see it.

So he steps closer to Kevin and pulls the other man in, wrapping both arms around him. Kevin doesn't resist in the slightest, giving a little gasp of delight, and cautiously holding onto Cecil in response.

"You don't have to worry, you know," Cecil whispers. "Both of us want you here. _Very_ much."

That makes Kevin hold on tighter. "I know," he replies. "And I… you know I can't thank you enough for…"

"You don't ever have to thank me," Cecil tells him, gently.

Kevin pulls back at that, just enough to meet Cecil's eyes. "Yes, I do," he insists, voice soft and heavy with emotion. "More than I could ever say…"

There's definitely a lot he hasn't told them yet. A lot Cecil suspects even Carlos has no idea of. But that's OK. Kevin needs time.

Cecil rests their foreheads together, gently lifting a hand to stroke it over Kevin's cheek, wanting to reassure him. And… silently marvelling at him, at this, at how right it all feels.

And that gets him another gasp, not from Kevin this time, but from Carlos, who is standing just off to the side. Both doubles turn to look at him, and the captivated expression in the scientist's eyes speaks volumes.

"You two are absolutely incredible," Carlos breathes. "If you could… you know… just keep doing that forever, I'd… _wow_ …"

Both doubles smile at this, and Kevin actually blushes a little. "Come here, you," he says, reaching over and pulling Carlos in close, so that both he and Cecil can wrap an arm round Carlos' waist.

And oh, it feels good, to have them both. So very, very good.

"We should take this sentiment to bed," Cecil points out, with another little smile.

So they do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After all the (dark, delicious) angst of Believer, my heart is still re-adjusting to fluff. This one is definitely helping with that!
> 
> And alas, here concludes today's update. But, coming soon, more fluff! And... uhm... possibly some trauma as well. I'm still me, after all! ;-)


	3. Everything Is Better When You Hear That Shout

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Saturday, dear readers! I return with another chapter of this one, in which you get several more scenes - and this time, they're all new.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

When Cecil wakes the following morning, he's lying with Kevin against his chest, and Carlos wrapped in behind Kevin, an arm around his waist. It's the second morning he's woken to find them both there, and Cecil can't help a little smile.

The other two are still asleep, and there's no urgency to move, so Cecil simply lies as he is, watching them. They've been through so much in the last couple of weeks, but right now they look so peaceful, and so content, and the sight fills Cecil with the kind of joy that can't be denied, because it comes from a place far beyond words.

And it ought to be strange – and, OK, it _is_ strange, but in a very good way – because he and Kevin are identical and what does it even _mean_ to be in a relationship with your own double? Cecil is still working that part out. But he knows it's right. Knows this is how things are meant to be. It's certainly how he _wants_ them to be.

A few minutes later, Kevin stirs just slightly, blinking his eyes open with a little jump before seeming to process where he is. And then he looks up, seeing that Cecil is already awake.

"Oh… hey…" he says, soft and still hazy.

"Hey," Cecil replies, smiling down at him, and lifting a hand to stroke over Kevin's cheek. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah…" Kevin murmurs, curling in tighter. "So well. Feels like ages since last I did…"

It's clear that Strex has been working him to death. Very nearly literally. Cecil feels another defensive urge flare in his chest.

"Were you..?" Kevin goes on. "I mean… were you watching me sleep?"

Cecil strokes his cheek again. "Yes. Just for a few minutes. You looked so peaceful."

"Oh…" Kevin says, looking so very touched. "Well… I… that's…"

It is already abundantly clear that Kevin only ever goes to pieces when he's deeply affected by something, and Cecil can't help another smile.

"All of this is still so strange," he admits. "And yet, at the same time, it makes perfect sense."

"I know," Kevin agrees, softly. "Being in a three-way relationship would have been surprising enough. But having one of those people be my own double… it was something of a shock when I realised I wanted you like that…"

"Tell me about it," Cecil concurs. "When… when did you know?"

"When did you?" Kevin counters, with a weirdly nervous edge, as if he's scared to admit it.

Cecil decides he should answer first. "I guess… the thought was in my head from that day when you killed those two enforcers to save us. And then during the occupation I kept listening to your broadcasts, and I knew it was about more than just wanting to know what Strex was up to, and then… in the house that doesn't exist… I started entertaining… notions."

Kevin laughs, softly. "'Entertaining notions'?" he repeats. "You mean 'thinking about jumping me'?"

Now it's Cecil's turn to blush, just slightly. "Not… not _jumping you_ , per se, but… saving you, I guess."

At this, it's as though Kevin isn't even breathing. "Saving me?" he says. "You… you knew..?"

"I knew something wasn't right," Cecil replies. "And even though I kept trying to get annoyed with you… it wasn't all I felt. And then, during the battle, when you got stabbed…"

The memories flare bright and intense, and they hurt, even though he knows Kevin is safe, and unharmed. But, more than that, Cecil remembers something else…

"…I would have cracked the world in two, to save you," he admits, softly. "I mean… not _literally_ , but… that's how strong the feeling was. And that's when I knew for _sure_."

That makes Kevin hold onto him very tightly again.

"What about you?" Cecil adds.

There's a long pause before Kevin speaks. "…the sandstorm…" he says.

Cecil stares down at him. "The sandstorm?" he repeats, taken aback. "But… you didn't even know I _existed_ before then. And… and I _attacked you!_ And… have I mentioned that I'm sorry for that part?"

"You don't have to be," Kevin replies, softly. "Everything was a little fraught that day. And… OK, I'm not saying I fell head-over-heels for you the moment I saw you, but… you looked like the one person in the world who might actually understand, and… and your eyes were – _are_ – so… beautiful."

"…Oh…" Cecil manages. "Kevin… I… if I'd known…"

"You really don't have to apologise," Kevin insists. "I think we both needed time to work this out."

"I guess we did," Cecil agrees.

"You two are so completely adorable…" comes a soft, sleepy murmur from Carlos.

"Hey, you," Kevin says, with a smile on his face that gives away just how utterly happy he is. And that's understandable, given that he must have missed Carlos like crazy – Cecil knows he himself certainly would – and given that he's apparently wanted Cecil too for a surprisingly long time.

And now he's here with them both.

"You can keep on being cute, you know," Carlos points out, snuggling in closer. "I'm more than happy to listen."

"Or you could join in…" Kevin suggests.

Good thing they don't need to get out of bed any time soon.

***

_**TWO WEEKS LATER** _

It's surprising how quickly that something which once seemed so strange and new can become so normal. It's only been two weeks since the Battle of Night Vale, and since Cecil, Kevin and Carlos all got together, but they've quickly settled into a comfortable routine, and it's already hard to imagine a life that didn't have all three of them in it.

But the ease and the comfort don't make it any less special, or any less wonderful. 

It's late one evening. They've had dinner, and finished tidying up, and Carlos has disappeared off into his lab for a little while. Kevin, as he quite often does, has paced out into the back garden and is watching the sun set.

And, right now, Cecil is watching Kevin. His double looks so content; standing bathed in golden light, and Cecil just enjoys the sight of him for a few moments. And then he steps outside too, walking over to Kevin and standing behind him, sliding both arms around his waist.

"Mmmmm," Kevin murmurs, happily. "Hey."

"Hey," Cecil replies, kissing his double on the neck, which makes him shiver with happiness and put his hands over Cecil's.

"Is Carlos still in his lab?"

"He is. I looked in on him a few minutes ago, and he was _very_ deep in thought, and muttering something about the numbers not being right."

Kevin laughs, soft and warm. "On a scale of one to ten, how insane was the chalkboard?"

"At least a nine," Cecil answers. "He might need distracting later. Especially if we want him to sleep at any point tonight."

"I'm sure we can manage that," Kevin says, with a smile in his voice. "You and I make quite a team."

Cecil smiles too. "Don't we just?" he agrees. "But I guess I shouldn't be surprised by that. We _are_ doubles, after all. And… also there's the part where I love you."

He's been trying to work out how to say it for several days now, and he's hesitated because he wasn't sure if Kevin was ready to hear it or not. But this way… this way he could always just put it down to a turn of phrase if Kevin _isn't_ ready.

Only, Kevin immediately does that thing where it's like he isn't breathing. Maybe for a moment he really isn't. He turns in Cecil's arms, and stares at him as though in shock, clearly struggling for coherence.

"You… you love me?" he repeats, voice little more than a whisper.

Cecil smiles again, because saying the words has made him realise just how fundamentally true they are. "Yes," he answers, softly. "Yes. I love you."

Kevin seems unable to stop staring. "…Are you sure?" he manages, like he doesn't quite dare let himself believe it.

That makes Cecil put a hand on his double's cheek, resting their foreheads together. "Of course I'm sure," he replies, very gently.

There's a moment when Kevin just keeps on staring, and then he makes a soft sound of joy and throws both arms around Cecil, holding on tight.

"Oh, Cecil, I love you too," he gasps, like he's also wanted to say it for some time. "And… and I didn't know how to tell you in case… in case… but you _do_ … and I…"

Cecil wraps him in firmly, kissing his neck again. "I do," he says, not letting go. "I love you. So very much."

And he does. And mere weeks ago, it might have seemed insane and impossible, but now? Now it's undeniably, wonderfully, true.

They stay as they are for another moment, neither one wanting to let go, and Cecil can feel how much Kevin is still shaking with happiness. When they do finally pull back, it's only far enough to meet eyes for a second, and then Kevin launches in to kiss Cecil over and over, before pressing back into his arms and curling in tight.

It feels so good, to hold him like this. To see and to feel just how happy he is. But, at the same time, Cecil's heart aches at the thought that Kevin had clearly been scared to admit how he felt even now, because just _what_ has the man been through that would affect him like this? He's so level-headed and confident when it comes to everything else, but when it comes to _love_ …

Cecil doesn't know. But whatever it takes to make the doubt go away, he'll do it.

"I love you," Kevin whispers, like he's still overwhelmed by being able to say it. And by hearing it as well.

"I love you too," Cecil replies.

"I don't know what I'd do without you."

"And you will _never_ have to find out."

That makes Kevin hold on even tighter, and for another minute the two of them don't move; just enjoying the closeness, and the words they've finally been able to give voice.

Eventually, Kevin pulls back enough to meet Cecil's eyes again. "We should tell Carlos," he says, full of nervous enthusiasm. "I mean… I know he's engrossed in science, but… but we should interrupt for this, right?"

Cecil smiles. "Absolutely," he agrees.

So they head back into the house, and through to Carlos' lab. Their beautiful scientist boyfriend is indeed still here, pacing up and down in front of his chalkboard, murmuring to himself. But he stops in mid-step when he sees the two of them, and he can clearly tell there's something going on.

"Hey," he starts out. "Is everything all right?"

"Oh yes," Kevin answers at once. "More than all right. Cecil says he loves me! And… and I said I love him too."

That makes Carlos smile, and step in closer, a hand on each of them as he does. "It's about time," he replies, warmly. "Not that I could ever have doubted it. The way the two of you look at each other… I've mentioned how hot that is, right? And…"

He hesitates for a second, with a sudden nervous flicker of his own as he meets Kevin's eyes, and Cecil realises why just before Carlos speaks again. "Kevin… you know I love you too, don't you? I… I know I've said it before, but that was… it was a long time ago. But I do. I don't think I ever really stopped. I love you. Both of you."

Kevin looks like he's about to break with happiness, and he and Cecil wrap Carlos in tight, the three of them suddenly tangled together and none of them wanting to let go any time soon. It feels so good, and so right, and even Cecil is a little lost for words at just how wonderful it all is.

"This is the best day of my life," Kevin gasps. "Well… OK, the day you both brought me home and told me you wanted me was the _best_ day of my life, but this one is a very close second…"

"…I am taking the two of you to bed before you break me with how adorable you are," Carlos says.

Needless to say, both doubles are entirely in favour of this plan.

***

_**TEN WEEKS LATER** _

It's the middle of the night.

Almost a week has passed since the three of them got back from Desert Bluffs. Their time in Night Vale's sister-city was something of an experience, yet – in the end – all of it was worthwhile.

They actually took down Strex. They destroyed the cursed crystal that had kept the whole town enthralled for decades, and they saved everyone as a result.

It wasn't easy, and all three of them are still carrying the weight of what happened. Of days spent in hiding, of the effects of said accursed Bloodstone. Of the time loop Carlos went through, in order to undo a series of events that had actually led to Cecil's death the first time around.

That part in particular was a lot to take in, and Cecil is still haunted by the horrified look in Carlos' eyes when he'd told them what had happened. And by the way Kevin had seemed to just break on the spot on learning that it was he – enthralled and mind-controlled – who had been responsible.

The fact that they won, in the end, makes it all eas _ier_ to deal with, but it doesn't make it _easy_. And then there's the things they learned about Kevin's past: things he hadn't told them, and things he hadn't even remembered, due to the lingering effects of the Bloodstone.

They'd already known – through firsthand experience – how skilled Kevin is in combat, and that he'd killed a number of people before. But that still hadn't been enough to prepare them for the discovery that Kevin had been Derek Hartley's fixer for twenty years. That he'd killed over and over for the man, and – though he didn't know it at the time – that many of the people he'd killed had been innocent.

And Kevin himself clearly didn't remember the full extent of it: not until the Bloodstone was destroyed, and his memories started to come back. Cecil knows that his double still doesn't remember everything, that he's still putting it all together again, but – eventually – he'll have it all worked out.

And there are going to be more revelations once he does, Cecil is sure. He tries not to think about it, because he knows they can't be good, and his heart aches because he can't save Kevin from them. All he can do is help him deal with them, when they come.

The one good thing to have come from Kevin's almost lifelong connection to Derek Hartley was his friendship with Hartley's younger daughter, Naomi, who turned out to have been deeply opposed to Strexcorp – and to her father – and desperate to start a revolution. It was she – and her wife, Darla – who'd sheltered them during their time in Desert Bluffs, and taken in a large number of their allies along the way. And now, it's Naomi who is turning what's left of Strexcorp into a force for good, and that certainly helps with the healing.

But the nightmares still come. All three men have had them since getting home, though Kevin's have been the worst. And now, as Cecil wakes in the middle of the night, he's not surprised to find that Kevin is already awake himself.

He's still in bed with them – in the centre, with Carlos on his left and Cecil on his right – but he's currently sitting up, half-curled over with his head on his knees. And though he isn't crying, he's shaking visibly, and the sight cuts straight through Cecil's lingering sleepiness, making him sit up at once and wrap both arms around his double, just holding on.

For a couple of minutes, neither of them says a word. They stay like that, in the darkness of their room, curled in close, until Kevin finally sits back and lifts his head.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," he says, softly.

"Don't be," Cecil insists, stroking a gentle hand over his double's arm. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I… had another nightmare," Kevin replies. "It wasn't… I mean… it felt so real…"

"It _wasn't_ real," Cecil reminds him. "Whatever it was…"

"…but it might have been," Kevin points out, very, very softly. "That's… that's what scares me the most. What if I'm not just having nightmares? What if some of them… what if they're memories?"

"If they are… then they're in the past," Cecil says, though his chest still aches at the thought. "And you know you weren't responsible. You were under the Bloodstone's control. And Strexcorp's."

Though what this really means is "Derek Hartley's", and _that_ realisation still makes Cecil's blood go cold.

"I know," Kevin replies. "But… all those things I did… even if I was being mind-controlled… I still _did them_. I… still…"

Cecil curls in closer, wrapping both arms around Kevin again and holding on. "I know," he says. "I know. You just have to remember that you didn't have a choice, and that you would have chosen differently, if you did."

Kevin lets Cecil pull him in, but it's clear he feels like he doesn't deserve it. "I did terrible things, Cecil. I did terrible things, and I enjoyed it."

It really is a horrifying concept, even when _not_ applied to someone you love. The very thought of being controlled like that, of not even being able to realise what was going on… it terrifies Cecil on a deep and primal level, and it makes him even more desperate to help Kevin.

"You didn't," Cecil insists. "You thought you enjoyed it, because you thought you wanted it. But if you'd known the truth…"

"…Some part of me could still have enjoyed it. I'm… not…"

"…don't you dare say 'normal' because…"

"… _good_. I'm not good."

Cecil's chest aches even harder. "Sweetheart," he breathes. "How can you even think that? You just spent a week and a half co-leading a revolution to save your entire hometown. You risked _everything_ for them… your life, your _sanity_ … without hesitation. And you didn't have to. You were safe here in Night Vale. Strex couldn't touch you. But you chose to go back anyway."

Kevin doesn't speak at this, and instead just drops his head again.

"I know the man you are," Cecil tells him, full of a fierce but gentle love. "I saw you stand up to Strexcorp – to that _monster_ who used to run it – when you clearly thought it could only ever lead to you ending up dead or destitute. I saw you take a knife to the side, and – even after you did – you never once begged us to save you. Only to save ourselves."

Something about that makes Kevin give a soft sob of pain and push suddenly into Cecil's arms. "I'd spent so long trying to protect you. To save you. Days and days and days of it. I couldn't let it all be for nothing. I _couldn't_."

"I know," Cecil replies, holding him close, stroking slowly over his back. So glad that he's here. So glad that they got to him in time. "And that's the point. A bad person wouldn't have done those things. But a good person… a good person would. A good person _did_."

"…oh…" Kevin murmurs, softly.

"And you know I mean it," Cecil reminds him. "You know I'd never have brought you home in the first place if I didn't think you were absolutely and utterly worth saving. But I did, because you are."

"…I wish I could see myself the way you see me," Kevin whispers. "I don't know how you do it."

"Eventually, you will," Cecil tells him. "When the pain fades, and your memories finish healing, and you've had time to process it all… you'll see. And I'll be here every step of the way."

For a few moments, Kevin is quiet again; just letting Cecil hold him. He's still shaking, but he seems to be calming now, and after another minute he lifts his head, meeting Cecil's eyes in the dimness.

"I love you so much," he says, voice cracking a little.

"I know," Cecil replies. "I love you too. Now… lie back down. You're safe here. You're safe, and we love you, and even when the nightmares come, just remember… they're not real. This is real."

They lie back, Kevin curling into Cecil's arms again, and giving a soft murmur of happiness when Carlos instinctively sleep-snuggles him from behind.

There are still revelations to come, Cecil knows, and they're going to hurt. But he's sure of one thing: nothing Kevin could tell them would make them love him any less.

And that's why he's certain they'll make it through.

***

_**THREE MONTHS LATER** _

Nebolgorod isn't so bad, once you get used to it.

They've been here a few days now, and it's been quite an experience. If nothing else, Cecil isn't sure how the universe has managed to cram so many revelations into so short a time.

But it has. Earl Harlan is alive. Carlos has a twin. And Cecil himself has a long-lost brother.

_That_ was the most shocking one of all. Cecil had always hoped Earl had survived the events of the Eternal Scout Ceremony, and whilst meeting Tomas had been something of a shock for him and Kevin, he wasn't a surprise to Carlos.

But Hunter? Even Cecil himself can't remember Hunter. His own older brother. His own older brother who saved him from some unknown extra-planar being back when they were teenagers, and ended up stranded here in Nebolgorod as a result. And semi-accidentally became its god-king in the process.

_Nebolgorod_. The miniature city underneath lane five of the Desert Flower Bowling Alley and Arcade Fun Complex. Cecil certainly never expected to see it like this. Or… to have already gotten weirdly fond of it.

Now that it's stopped trying to kill Carlos. And Kevin. And him, for that matter.

But apparently the universe wasn't done yet. Because, if all these revelations have been shocking, they still somehow pale before the moment when Cecil discovered he has some kind of hyper-strong powers.

He's still reeling from that. From the moment the whole room had gone purple and he'd blasted Alex Vasquez away from Kevin and Dana like it was as easy as breathing.

Because it _was_ as easy as breathing.

Cecil still has no idea how to process all this. He's always been happy to be the one who _isn't_ special – given that Carlos is a genius, and Kevin fights like he was born to it – and now, all of a sudden, he's got abilities that put him on a level with the most powerful human of the age, and everyone is looking at him differently.

_Kevin_ is looking at him differently. In fact, out of all of them, Kevin is looking at him the _most_ differently. And OK, yes, it isn't in a bad way, and it doesn't have Cecil worried, but it's still…

Strange. It's strange. There's something almost _reverential_ about it at times, and given how strong Kevin usually likes to be, it's odd to see him like this.

Take now, for example. Carlos is off with Tomas, continuing their work on the shrinking technology, and Earl is off with Hunter again (and is _that_ going the way Cecil thinks it's going?) And, deep in thought, Cecil finds himself sitting on the edge of the secluded courtyard outside the palace.

Maybe he's drawn to it, because it's where he and Kevin tried those summonings the other day. Because _that's_ something Cecil is apparently good at, too. (Perhaps that's what made him try it when he was younger. Perhaps he should have worked all this out sooner.)

After a little while, Kevin paces into the courtyard from the opposite side. Cecil isn't sure where his double has been, but he knows Kevin had wanted to explore the city some more, and guesses he must have just gotten back. Their eyes meet across the open space and Kevin walks over at once.

"Hey," he says, that odd look in his eyes again.

"Hey," Cecil answers.

Kevin headtilts. "You OK? You seem… distant."

"I was just thinking about it all," Cecil tells him. "I guess I'm still processing."

And that's when Kevin drops to his knees in front of where Cecil is sitting, taking his hands. And _wow_ , but it's still so strange to see him do that. It happened three nights ago, right after the incident where Cecil's powers first manifested, and he'd been stunned to see Kevin do it. Because… it doesn't _fit_ with the way Kevin usually is. He likes being strong. He _especially_ likes being strong in bed. But that night… he'd been different.

Cecil knows he's missing something. Some piece of a much larger puzzle. He just doesn't know what it is yet.

" _Cecil_ ," Kevin breathes, and it's OK to enjoy him being like this, right? Because… because Cecil can't deny that he does. "I know this is a lot for you to deal with. You don't have to work it out all at once. But… you're special. I mean… you've always been special, but this… this is something more."

"It doesn't have to change anything, you know," Cecil says, perhaps trying to convince himself as much as he's trying to convince Kevin.

"But it does," Kevin replies. "Not in a bad way, oh no… but in a good one. The things you can do… they're _extraordinary_ , Cecil. And you still have so much more to discover. I know it."

"That's part of what scares me," Cecil admits. "But you… you don't seem worried."

"Why would I be?"

"Because… because you've seen what these powers can lead to. What they can do."

Cecil doesn't know much about Susan Hartley, because Kevin is reluctant to talk about her, but he does know that she was the most powerful human of the age, and that his own powers are much like hers were. And she was the one who summoned the Strexcorp Management Board to this plane. She was the one who made their six-decade reign of terror possible.

She inflicted _Derek_ Hartley on the world. On _Kevin_.

"Cecil," Kevin says, gently. "Susan Hartley's powers didn't make her evil. Being evil made her evil."

"But what if… what if I lose control?"

Kevin pulls Cecil's hands in closer, kissing his knuckles. "Sweetheart… you won't. You're a good person. You've always been a good person. I can't think of anyone better suited to have powers like these."

Some part of Cecil knows that Kevin is right, but it's hard not to dwell on it. Though seeing the certainty in his double's eyes… that helps.

"I still worry," he says.

"I know," Kevin tells him. "You just need time to process all this. But, trust me, it's OK. And plus… the whole powers-thing is _really_ hot."

Cecil can't help a smile at that. "It does seem to work for you."

"It does," Kevin replies, with a smile of his own. "It _really_ does."

Cecil leans in to kiss him, slow and careful, and Kevin reaches up to hold on. And, as the kiss breaks, Cecil takes firmer hold of his double, pulling him up into his lap and wrapping both arms around him.

"I love you so much," he says, which makes Kevin curl in tighter. "And even though all of this scares me, I know I can deal with it, with you to help."

" _Anything_ , Cecil," Kevin breathes.

…seriously, should it be _that_ hot when he's like this..?

"And also," Cecil goes on, "if you wanted… you know… if you wanted to try a little more summoning, I'd like that."

Kevin pulls back enough to meet his eyes, beaming. "I knew you would! And of course I'd like to!"

And much as Cecil still finds the prospect a little alarming, it's also hard not to want to do it again all the same, given how enthusiastic it makes Kevin, and right now the smile on his face is impossible to resist.

Kevin has so many different smiles. But this one? This one is pure joy.

And it's a victory like no other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if there's one chapter left to come of this, or two, but I _do_ know that we're about to delve deep into angstville.
> 
> So brace yourselves, dear readers, because when I return with more, we're heading back to the First Infernal Plane... and things are going to get messed-up again...
> 
> Catch you all soon! :-D


	4. Pieces Of Rushed-Out Verses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Salutations, dear readers! I return with another chapter of this latest thing. This is most definitely not the final chapter - there's going to be at least one more - and I am warning you now that this one ends on a cliffhanger. I mean, OK, if you've read Da Capo Al Fine you know what comes next, but it's still a cliffhanger. Especially as you haven't _seen_ what comes next.
> 
> But you're going to.
> 
> I hope you've been enjoying the fluff, dear readers. I truly do. Now brace yourselves for the pain! ;-)

_**EIGHT MONTHS LATER** _

It's the morning after the night before, and Cecil is still in shock.

He's reeling from everything Kevin told them hours earlier, when they'd found him awake and deeply distressed, and despite having known that there was a lot Kevin hadn't said yet, Cecil found himself stunned by how much of it there was.

But two things stand out above all: the truth about Callum Outteridge, and the truth about Derek Hartley.

Hearing Kevin admit to his years-long affair with Hartley might just have been one of the hardest moments of Cecil's life. And this isn't because he's angry with Kevin – on the contrary, he could never be angry with Kevin – but because of the sheer horror of the whole thing. Of the realisation that the heavy terror in the pit of Cecil's stomach, whenever he thought about Hartley, was wholly justified. Because… even though it was a shock, at the same time Cecil thinks some part of him has always known, since the moment he first saw the way Hartley looked at Kevin.

And now he's been proven horribly right. And suddenly, Cecil's memories of seeing Hartley die bloodily during the Battle of Night Vale have taken on a new hue.

Part of him is glad. And part of him doesn't feel guilty about that. Because what the man did to Kevin… it's unforgivable.

Manipulating him. Seducing him. _Using him_.

Cecil feels cold when he thinks it. And… it makes him more aware of the power at his fingertips. Of the things he could do, if he tried. Of the things he _would_ do, if that monster was still alive.

The truth about Callum Outteridge had been hard to hear, too: not just the thought of Kevin losing someone he'd loved, or even the thought of it being Kevin himself – under the control of the Bloodstone – who had killed Callum.

No. The really scary thing is he'd remembered that part since he first came to town. That he'd gone through the Battle of Night Vale, and the whole revolution in Desert Bluffs, knowing he'd once been responsible for the death of his lover.

And terrified that it would happen again.

Cecil is just glad Kevin has finally told them the truth. He knows how difficult it was. Knows that Kevin had thought it would make them stop loving him.

So they'd proven him wrong. That was the good that came of it. They'd listened and they'd held him and they hadn't stopped loving him once, not for a second. And, much as it was hard to hear, Cecil knows he'll be glad of it in the long run, because now Kevin doesn't have to carry all of those memories alone.

But that wasn't the only good thing to come out of last night. Because, in the midst of all the horror at the thought of what Hartley had done to Kevin, Cecil found himself finally understanding the missing piece of one particular puzzle.

Kevin wanted to surrender. But he didn't dare, because he'd only ever surrendered to Hartley. And when Cecil realised that… so much made sense.

He remembers the moment when he'd taken the leap: when he'd pulled Kevin's hands behind his back and told him – gently, oh-so-gently – that it was OK to give in. That he was safe. It had clearly blown Kevin's mind. It had clearly blown Carlos' mind too, and that was wonderful as well. And then they'd given Kevin what he'd needed for so long.

And in the end, when Kevin had been lying between them, wrists still handcuffed to the headboard and clearly blissed out of his mind, Cecil had been overjoyed to see it.

Plus… he'd enjoyed taking control more than he expected. Possibly this is something he's going to have to try again, because… _yes_.

Right now, he and Kevin are still at home. Carlos has already headed off to the lab for the day – after giving each of them a very drawn-out kiss and promising to be home early – and it's not quite time for Cecil and Kevin to set out to the radio station.

Cecil is sitting on the couch, making some notes for the afternoon's show, when Kevin comes pacing in. He settles next to Cecil, wordlessly curling up against him, and Cecil slides an arm around him, pulling him in close.

He remembers the very first time he and Kevin sat like this. How he'd had to encourage the other man to do it, to show him that it was OK.

So much more makes sense now.

"I can't thank you enough for last night," Kevin starts out, after a moment.

Cecil sets his notebook down and turns to pull Kevin in closer. "You don't have to," he replies.

"I do," Kevin insists. "I mean it. All of it. You… set me free. In more ways than I could ever say. You listened, and… and you didn't hate me… and then you… I…"

He pauses, taking a deep breath, and Cecil just waits until the other man is ready to continue.

"…did you like it? When you took control? I mean… really?"

Cecil lifts a hand and strokes gently over Kevin's cheek. "I liked it. I liked it a _lot_. And I'll do it again, if you want me to."

" _Oh_ ," Kevin breathes. "You're… sure?"

"Very sure. I was a little nervous to begin with, but at the same time… I somehow wasn't."

"You were magnificent," Kevin tells him, and Cecil can't help blushing at that. "I mean it. And I could sense the way it made the power flare in your blood."

So could Cecil. And, strangely, it didn't make him feel scared of it, when it did.

"Though," Kevin goes on, "I am sorry it took me so long to tell you everything."

"Don't be," Cecil insists. "You needed to be ready. Or… as ready as you can be, for something like that."

"And… what happens next?"

He's still scared. Though that's understandable.

"Nothing changes," Cecil says. "Nothing changes, except now you don't have to carry those memories alone. And you don't have to worry that they might make us stop loving you."

Because they won't.

Nothing will.

***

_**SIX DAYS LATER** _

It's hard to fathom how so much has gone wrong so fast.

One minute, Cecil, Kevin and Carlos were enjoying a weekend in Desert Bluffs with Naomi and Darla, and the next all hell had broken loose. Before long, they'd discovered Night Vale in the thrall of the long-buried second Bloodstone, and the people hiding out at the seismic monitoring station belonging to Carlos' team of scientists.

But even that pales before what came next: before the showdown at the second Bloodstone and the portal to the First Infernal Plane.

And to the moment when the horrible, horrible truth had been made clear:

Derek Hartley is alive.

In any normal day, that ought to be the worst possible thing that could happen. But not this day. Oh no. Because that, too, had paled before the most terrible revelation of all:

Kevin is soul-bound to Hartley. And, with the bind finally activated, he's back under that monster's control.

And Cecil doesn't know what to do. Hartley wants him to open a planar gateway back to Night Vale, so he and his also-still-alive allies can take it over. Maybe destroy it. And there's no way Cecil can allow that to happen. No way. Except for the part where Hartley keeps threatening to hurt Carlos. To _kill_ Carlos.

And if he does, Cecil knows he'll make Kevin do it. And then, even if Cecil somehow manages to save Kevin, he'd be stuck with the memory of murdering his lover. _Again_.

He'd never recover from it. Not again. In one fell swoop, Hartley could destroy them all.

And Cecil _doesn't know what to do_.

Because he _does_ know what the alternative is. The alternative is to acquiesce. To open a gateway. To let Hartley and his allies return to Desert Bluffs and Night Vale, seize control of Strexcorp, and begin a second age of blood and sunlight.

They'd kill hundreds. Maybe thousands. Certainly people Cecil cares about. Family. Friends. Colleagues. But the only way to prevent it is to damn the two men he loves to death, or worse.

The only flicker of hope is Aidan Outteridge, Callum's demonic father, who is also still alive but most assuredly no longer allied with Hartley, following his discovery of what really happened to his only son. Right now, Aidan is off trying to get hold of something that might allow them to take out Hartley and his associates, but it's a slim hope, and even if he makes it back in time, there's no guarantee the plan will work.

Which leaves Cecil with his original impossible choice: save his lovers, damn their hometowns. Or the other way around.

Right now, he's sitting in the stone circle prison where they're being kept, with Carlos wrapped in his arms. He doesn't dare let go of the man. Kevin has already been taken from them, and he can't lose Carlos too.

He'll fall apart, if he does.

And then, Cecil is suddenly dragged from his thoughts by a voice at the front of the stone circle: a voice that makes his heart start to race all over again.

"There you are."

It's Kevin. He steps into view through the mist surrounding the stones, with rather too many demon-enforcers following close behind. And he's _smiling_. And this is the smile you need to worry about. The one that tends to be the precursor to blood.

The _Strexcorp smile_.

He moves with such unshakable confidence, walking up to the outside of the circle. As he does, both Cecil and Carlos leap to their feet, and Cecil immediately steps in front of the other man. And it's more than a natural urge to be defensive, because he also knows the way Kevin acts towards Carlos when he's like this.

"We have nothing to say to you," Cecil starts out. He knows it won't simply make Kevin turn around and leave, but he has to say _something_. Has to make it clear that they're not going to give in.

Not without a fight, at least.

"Oh, Cecil, Cecil, I think that you do," Kevin replies, so very smoothly.

The energy field surrounding the stone circle gives a slight flicker right in front of where Kevin is standing, and then vanishes, allowing him to step inside the circle and stalk towards them. And as if this wasn't bad enough, four of those demon-enforcers follow close behind, whilst the rest stay lurking outside.

So they can watch.

"You stay away from us," Cecil insists, trying to sound firm and not desperate. "We won't help you. We won't help _him_. And this… Kevin, this isn't you. You don't have to do this. You don't have to be what that _monster_ made you."

The need to _save him_ is so overwhelming, it makes Cecil's chest ache. He's felt it before, many times, but right now he doesn't think it's ever been stronger.

"Oh, he's no monster," Kevin answers, without missing a beat. "And I don't just _have_ to be what he made me, I _want_ to be. I'm back where I belong, Cecil, and part of you knows it. But this doesn't have to be unpleasant. You know how much I care for you both. Agree to do what Mr Hartley asks, and you won't be hurt, I promise. You can live long, happy lives under Strexcorp's comforting aegis."

Because that's the _other_ nightmare scenario. And it sounds nigh-on as bad as ending up dead.

And Cecil is about to say as much, except that Carlos gets there first.

"We would rather die," he declares, stepping around Cecil as he does, and Cecil's heart flares with fresh terror because he _knows_ how Kevin is going to react to that. "And so would you."

Kevin's smile brightens even more, and his response makes Cecil's blood go cold. "Sweet, beautiful Carlos," he says. "You really are the most target-shaped man I've ever known."

What happens next does so far too quickly. Kevin gives a nod, and two of the demon-enforcers launch forwards, yanking Cecil and Carlos away from each other and then seizing Cecil's arms, holding him still. But any worry about this pales before the fact that, at the same time, Kevin grabs hold of Carlos and slams him back against the nearest standing stone, knife pressed under his jaw.

Horror overrules common sense. "Stop!" Cecil shouts, trying to fight the demons holding him… and trying to remind himself why it would be a _bad_ idea to blast them with that energy he can summon.

If Kevin didn't have his knife over Carlos' throat, Cecil would already have those demons on the ground. But he can't. He can't, and Kevin is more than aware of the fact. He glances sideways at Cecil with a deadly look in his eyes.

"Cecil, please. If you try anything – anything at all – this will end badly, and you know it. So, much as I love how mind-blowingly powerful you are, try to rein it in, hmmm?"

"You do _anything_ to Carlos and I'll–"

"You'll what?" Kevin pushes, still so very smoothly, and the way Carlos' eyes flicker at that tone is a whole new kind of worrying. "You won't hurt me, Cecil. You can't. That's why this will work."

That's the problem, isn't it? He can't hurt Kevin. He could do whatever he wanted to those demons, but he can't hurt Kevin, and so long as Kevin has Carlos at knifepoint, nothing else is going to do any good.

And what makes it even more agonising is that he's seen Kevin with Carlos at knifepoint before… except that those times were intimate, and wonderful, and the way he can make the other man react just by tracing the edge of the blade over his skin is…

…really, really going to make things a whole lot worse right now, isn't it?

All Cecil can do is glare. A great deal. To hide everything else. "You are going to be in _so much trouble_ when we get you home!"

This is a lie. If they get him home, Cecil is confident they'll just want to hold him forever. But it's still a good line.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," Kevin purrs. "Now…" And he turns to look at the man on the other side of his knife. " _Carlos_."

"We won't help you," Carlos insists, brave and desperate. "We won't."

"Cecil will," Kevin replies, easily, as he presses that knife in closer. "He will, to save you. You've always been his greatest weakness. And when I break you… it will break him too."

Cecil's blood goes cold all over again, because he knows this is going where he's scared it's going. And… at the same time, his heart shatters a little, because why does Kevin still think that it's only Carlos – and not both of them – who he'd break for?

"I won't give in to you," Carlos insists, in a soft whisper.

Kevin laughs softly, tilting Carlos' jaw back further with the edge of the blade, and leaning in closer…

…and, damn it, that is hot to watch, and the man needs to _stop it_ right now…

"You will," Kevin replies, level and sure. "You always do."

And he presses in to kiss Carlos, all at once; firm and possessive, and for a long, long, _achingly_ long moment Carlos just lets him, and Cecil's heart hurts more, not because he doesn't like seeing them kiss, but because it's a _bad_ sign if Carlos is going under already.

Perhaps some part of Carlos realises the same, because all at once he reacts: pushing Kevin back as hard as he can. He's definitely caught the other man off-guard – given that it actually works for a moment – but once that moment passes Kevin is right back in Carlos' face again, blade pressed under his jaw.

"Oooh, feeling fiery, are we?" Kevin says. "I recommend you put a stop to it, unless you want to find out just what I can do in response…"

Carlos' expression goes a little hazy again, and he's clearly having to fight not to go under. "I won't… I won't let you…"

"You don't have a choice," Kevin replies. "You know that. This isn't the first time I've broken through your mental defences. _And I'm better at it now_. I know every last little button to press…"

He starts stroking the blade oh-so-lightly over Carlos' neck, and it gets him a soft gasp of pleasure far too quickly for Cecil's liking.

"Kevin, _stop_ ," Cecil insists, unable to keep the desperation from his own voice.

"I'm so glad you're watching this time, Cecil," Kevin tells him. "I love it when you watch."

Cecil snaps at that, and immediately starts fighting against the demons holding him, but Kevin's only response is to ignore him and turn back to Carlos, kissing him once more. And Cecil can see the way Carlos is giving into it, the way he's going under, and the sheer horror knocks the energy out of him. He goes still, dropping his head so he doesn't have to watch, mind reeling in desperation.

"That's it," Kevin tells Carlos, soft and seductive. "That's it. You'll feel so much better when you give in. All the fear and worry will go away. Isn't that what you want?"

"…Stop," Carlos whispers. "I… I won't…"

"You will," Kevin tells him. "You will. Do you know why this is so easy for me?"

In the distance, the quiet, subtle song of the bloodstones seems to brighten, and – in a moment of renewed horror – Cecil understands. And, judging by the sudden flicker of alarm in his eyes, so does Carlos.

Kevin, meanwhile, simply slips something out from where it's hanging around his neck, under his shirt: a shaped piece of bloodstone, smoothly cut into a five-sided pendant, and glowing with soft menace.

Cecil knows he should have seen this coming. Knows that proximity to bloodstone makes Kevin able to exert his will over people – over _Carlos_ – with frightening strength.

And it hurts. It hurts not just because of the overt threat, but because bloodstone is _poison_.

"You know what that thing _is_ ," Cecil growls. "You know what it _does_."

"Oh yes, Cecil, I do," Kevin answers. "I know so very well. And Carlos knows too, don't you? He knows. He _remembers_. With the aid of the Bloodstone, I was able to help him see the light once before. And now… it's true that its power is subtler here. I think it's _also_ true that our beautiful scientist has gotten better at resisting. But it won't be enough…"

He turns back to Carlos and starts tracing the edge of the knife along his jaw again. Carlos gasps at the contact, not fighting it, and Kevin seizes the opportunity at once.

"I know you like that," Kevin says, tone low and hypnotic. "I know how much. Just let yourself give in to it, Carlos. Let yourself give in to _me_. You know how good I can make this for you. I can take away all the fear. All the worry."

"I won't…" Carlos breathes. "I… _won't_ …"

Somehow, he finds the strength to fight back, and pushes Kevin away from him again. And though it's undeniably good to see him do it, it's also terrifying, given the knife in Kevin's hand. He's clearly caught Kevin by surprise this time, too, and the moment of confusion gives Carlos space to act again.

But it doesn't last. One second, Carlos is trying to knock the blade from Kevin's hand, and the next, he's been slammed back against the standing stone, wrists pinned together above his head and the knife over his throat.

And the sudden fury radiating off Kevin is _terrifying_.

"Carlos!" Cecil shouts in alarm, struggling against the demon-enforcers.

Kevin glares over at him. " _Quiet_ ," he hisses, before turning his attention to Carlos once more. "And _you_. I would recommend against trying that again. I would also suggest that, when trying to engage in a knife-fight, you start by _having a knife_. Otherwise, this happens."

"Stop," Carlos whispers – _begs_ – and the fear in his voice makes Cecil's heart ache with renewed intensity. "I… Kevin, please…"

"You're not in control here," Kevin reminds him, a little more softly. " _I_ am. But you like that, don't you? Some part of you has always liked that. Some part of you has always wanted to give in to me. So _give in_. Give in, Carlos…"

Carlos' eyes start to go hazy, and Cecil feels a fresh flare of panic. He can see the other man slowly sinking under, and the mere thought is horrifying: the idea of being faced with a mind-controlled Kevin _and_ a power-seduced Carlos and not being able to save either of them.

"That's it," Kevin says, his voice so soothing and gentle now. "That's right. Let the song fill you up. Let my words fill you up. Let yourself sink down…"

" _Yes_ ," Carlos breathes. "Yes…"

And the power in Cecil's blood goes _haywire_.

" **No**!" he shouts, and sends a shockwave of purple light blazing outwards. It has everyone within the circle crashing to the rocky ground in a whirl of dust, and as they fall – for an instant – Cecil feels as though some dark, insidious force has crept into his very being, and it's screaming out for _blood_.

For more than blood. To kill these demons, to take back what's his, to _destroy_ Derek Hartley for ever _thinking_ that…

…no, no, no, he is _not giving in to this!_

Everything erupts into chaos. The four demon-enforcers scramble up from where they've fallen and go for Cecil at once; but, despite not giving into the sudden urge to _end them_ , he still won't let them touch him, blasting them onto their backs every time they get close, whilst trying to fight his way over to Carlos and Kevin.

And then he hears the shout.

"Cecil!"

It's Kevin, and his tone makes Cecil freeze on the spot, long enough to see what's going on… and what he sees sends a fresh burst of terror coursing through him. Carlos is on his knees a little way off, with Kevin standing behind him, holding his shoulder, knife over his throat.

Carlos looks almost apologetic, and Cecil's chest aches.

"Mr Hartley needs you alive, Cecil," Kevin says, tone level and serious and deadly. "He does not need Carlos. So I suggest you heed my earlier advice and _rein it in_ , unless you want this to end badly."

For a long moment, Cecil doesn't speak. He can't. And then, he lowers his hands, nodding numbly, not quite daring to say anything in case it makes things worse.

Right now, it might.

"Good choice," Kevin tells him, with a softer tone, before giving a nod to the demon-enforcers. "Hold him."

Cecil braces himself to be grabbed by them again, only to find that he's mistaken as to who Kevin's current target is. Instead, it's Carlos who is seized by the demons and yanked to his feet, a look of shock in his own eyes as Kevin suddenly rounds on Cecil.

And that's all kinds of weird. Cecil doesn't dare resist, given that the demons have hold of Carlos and he _knows_ they have no reason not to hurt him, so all he can do is let Kevin back him up against the closest standing stone. Kevin doesn't even make physical contact until they've stopped moving, and then all he does is put a hand on Cecil's chest.

His heart is racing, and he knows Kevin can feel it.

"If you wanted my attention, Cecil, you only had to ask," he purrs.

"I want you to leave Carlos alone," Cecil throws back, as firmly as he can. Utterly set on not giving in, not even for a second. "I want you to fight that ridiculous soul-bind. I want you with _us_ , where you belong."

Because you're ours. Not his. _Ours_.

 **Mine**.

"Oh, Cecil, you really are so very noble," Kevin replies. "I've always loved that about you. And I certainly wouldn't want you feeling left out. I care for you just as much as I care for Carlos. But our relationship has a different… _hue_ , doesn't it? Carlos likes it when I overpower him. You… well. You like to be the strong one. But _I'm_ the strong one right now."

He's not wrong about the fact that Cecil likes to be the strong one. He does. For a long time, he's liked it because he enjoys making his boyfriends feel safe, because both of them have – on several occasions – had very genuine reasons to _not_ feel safe, and the need to protect them is overwhelmingly strong.

But it's become more than that. Since his own abilities activated, he's found himself enjoying the power itself, for its own ends. Not in a bad way, oh no, but certainly in a way that's as much inward as it is outward.

And right now, it's making all of this even worse.

Kevin lifts his knife and presses it to Cecil's throat, and his blood goes _cold_ in a wave that spreads all the way through him. He doesn't move, doesn't resist – because he _knows_ what Kevin can do with that thing – but the sudden thrumming at his fingertips is difficult to ignore.

"I wondered once if you would turn out to be a screamer," Kevin remarks, not at all idly. "I still don't know for sure. Shall we find out?"

"I wouldn't give you the satisfaction," Cecil retorts.

And just as he's about to brace himself, just as he's expecting Kevin to hurt him, the universe delivers a far deeper cut.

"Who said anything about _giving_?" comes a voice from the edge of the circle. "We are Strexcorp. We _take_ what is ours."

Without moving the blade from Cecil's throat, Kevin turns back at once as Derek Hartley steps through the standing stones and paces closer. He looks sickeningly pleased with himself, and Cecil feels the need to _do something about it_ flaring in his blood again.

"Sir," Kevin says, tone full of fervour. "Did you need me for something?"

"Oh, no," Hartley replies. "I merely felt a wave of rather powerful energy and decided I should come and check you had everything under control. I see now that you do, of course. You've always been so very competent."

"I learned from the best," Kevin answers, in what is evidently meant as a modest tone. "I've just been discussing the finer details of the current situation with my dear double. And with lovely Carlos. He certainly is stronger than he used to be. This time last year, I would have been able to have him on his knees with a snap of my fingers by this point. But no matter. I enjoy a challenge."

Hartley looks over at Carlos, a very predatory edge to his expression, and Cecil is just about to tell him _precisely_ what will happen if he doesn't stop when Hartley turns that expression on him instead, and it gets _infinitely_ worse.

And Cecil goes cold as ice.

"I remember," Hartley remarks, smoothly. "Although, I must say, I am glad to have walked in on you and your double like this. He really is positively _delicious_ , isn't he? Two of you at the same time. Now _that_ is going to be fun. Wouldn't you agree, Carlos?"

" _Go to Hell_ ," Carlos hisses, and the defensiveness in his tone is enough to snap Cecil out of the sudden shock he's slipped into at realising that Hartley is looking at him _exactly_ the same way as he looks at Kevin.

Hartley shrugs. "I've been," he says, idly. "The real-estate prices are ridiculous and don't even get me _started_ on the décor."

"This isn't going to work," Cecil cuts across, trying to sound firm and strong and not, in fact, suddenly terrified in a very new way. "I will never help you. I will never let you get back to Desert Bluffs or to Night Vale."

Looking unfazed, Hartley gives a soft sigh and then nods to Kevin, and it's clear Kevin knows what he means by it because he acts at once. Within seconds, he's slipped his knife into its sheath and yanked Cecil away from the standing stone, pushing him closer to Hartley and tugging his hands behind his back.

Cecil's heart races so hard, his whole body aches with it. And, whilst he's glad to have finally drawn attention away from Carlos, he does _not_ like where this is going one bit. The sight clearly has Carlos frightened too, given that he finally tries to break away from the demons holding him, though it doesn't do much good.

" _Cecil_ ," Hartley starts out, in the tone of a man opening a deal and a seduction all at once. "You have that same spark of defiance as your double. It really is quite something. But, like Kevin, you will find things become infinitely more pleasant for you once you start to see things my way."

"I will _never_ let you win," Cecil retorts, as firmly as he can.

Hartley slips a hand under his jaw, lifting it with a faux-gentle edge, and Cecil feels sick to his stomach, unable to back away from the demon's touch because Kevin is still holding him in place.

"Oh, you will," Hartley answers. "And my victory will be all the sweeter when you do."

"I would rather die," Cecil declares. Because he would.

"There are things far worse than death," Hartley reminds him, still sounding idle on the surface, but with a heavy threat lurking underneath that betrays the truth of what this man is capable of.

"There is _nothing_ worse than letting you win," Cecil insists, not realising until he speaks that his voice has fallen to little more than a whisper.

A fond smile comes to Hartley's lips, and he traces fingertips along the side of Cecil's cheek, and right now Cecil would give _his own blood_ to get the man away from him.

"You really are as pure as you seem, aren't you?" Hartley remarks. "Corrupting Kevin was easy, but still _so_ very satisfying. Corrupting you… oh, now, that _will_ be something."

Cecil doesn't dignify this with a response. He can't. It would either be so full of anger that it would get him – or Carlos – hurt, or so full of terror that he'd look weak and vulnerable.

For a moment, no one speaks, and then Hartley looks to Kevin once more. "Bring him," he orders. "I think perhaps he needs to see."

The words make Cecil's mind go numb.

" _No_!" Carlos shouts in raw, unveiled horror. "Don't you dare!"

But there's nothing either of them can do to stop this. No way to prevent Kevin dragging Cecil out of the stone circle, Hartley following them both, and the demon-enforcers moving to flank him. Cecil can hear Carlos shouting in anguish, and the flaring of the energy field surrounding the circle as he no doubt hammers on it in desperation, but it does no good.

And this awful day just got a whole lot worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This, ironically (in the colloquial sense of the word), was the cliffhanger that so rattled me when I was writing Da Capo Al Fine that I couldn't post it until I'd written the next chapter as well, so actually stopping here this time has a weird sense of circularity to it.
> 
> And coming up... well, there are three scenes left in Chiralityverse that I've never been sure I could ever write, and when I return, you're getting one of them...
> 
> Until next time! :-D


	5. What Are You Fighting For?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, brace yourselves, dear readers, because I'm back... and it's with this chapter. I'm not gonna lie, this was a tricky one to write, even for me!
> 
> Warnings for mind games, death imagery, and Derek. We remember how Derek is a warning?
> 
> Also, for those of you who've read _Believer_ , warnings for an alarming amount of even-more-alarming foreshadowing...

Cecil tries not to let his mind go into lockdown as they walk.

There are next to no positives here. Yes, he's relatively confident that Carlos is no longer being menaced or threatened, but he _has_ just had to watch Cecil be dragged off, leaving him alone, and that must have been agonising. And, whilst Cecil doesn't want Carlos anywhere near Kevin or Hartley, not knowing what's happening to him comes with a whole new set of problems.

But his own predicament right now is likely far worse. Still held in Kevin's grip, he's led back towards that central amphitheatre and then beyond it, over rocky ground and eventually up a set of roughly-hewn steps, until they finally reach a broad, semicircular plateau.

From here, still a fair way off, Cecil can see a vast castle set atop the rocky crags. And there has never been a building in existence that screamed 'villain lair' more loudly. Spikes and gargoyles adorn the outer stonework, and the entryway with its huge portcullis looks like a gaping, sharp-toothed maw. Somehow even more horrifying than this is the Strexcorp logo cut into the stonework, many storeys tall, but with the giant capital S written in the script used for Dzy-an-thyl.

The plateau where they've stopped is wide and open. There's a throne close to the opposite edge: huge and imposing and actually carved from bloodstone, and Hartley paces over to it, settling there with ease. He doesn't wave the enforcers off, though; clearly aware that it would be unwise not to have backup close at hand. Six of them remain, lurking in a line behind the throne, and Cecil knows they're doing it for effect.

He has bigger problems now, though. Once Hartley has seated himself in the throne, Kevin drags Cecil closer, pushing him to his knees close by. And then he goes over to Hartley, half-sitting on the arm of the throne at his side, knife still drawn.

The sight is too horrifying for words, and Cecil finds himself paralysed by it.

Hartley glances at Kevin, smiling at him, and then turns his attention to the man on his knees.

" _Cecil_ ," he purrs. "At last I have you alone."

"There are nine of us here," Cecil points out, dryly. "In no way are we 'alone'."

Unfazed, Hartley keeps smiling. "Oh, Cecil," he says. "I didn't mean that _I_ was alone. I meant that _you_ were alone. Because you are, and you know it."

Cecil glares at the demon as hard as he can. "You're wasting your time. I'm not going to give in to you."

Hartley gives a soft laugh. "Everyone gives in to me eventually. It's my greatest power. Sooner or later, no matter how strong they are, they submit. Isn't that right, Kevin?"

"Yes, sir," Kevin answers. "That's right. It's how things are meant to be."

"You're not wrong," Hartley replies. "And, Cecil, this will be much easier if you accept the reality of it. You are in my realm and in my power and you _will_ surrender to me eventually. Feel free to draw it out as long as you like, but just remember that it only means this will be harder for you. And… for your pretty scientist."

"You don't _touch_ Carlos," Cecil hisses, feeling the defensive anger flare in his blood again.

Hartley laughs once more. "Please, you really think _I'll_ be the one who does it? If you don't agree to do as I say, you can rest assured that your scientist will pay the price, but it will be Kevin who wields the blade…"

"Cecil won't let it come to that," Kevin remarks, smoothly. "He'll tell you all the ways he's going to resist and he'll threaten to use those _delicious_ powers of his, but the truth of the matter is he'll cave in when Carlos' wellbeing is at stake."

"Part of me thinks I should have the man brought here after all," Hartley says, "and hold you still myself so that you can watch whilst Kevin goes to work on him. We both know you wouldn't last long. But… I don't want things to be that way, Cecil. I want us to be allies. I want you to take up your place at my side, where you're meant to be, and I want to be able to reward you when you do. I know how much Carlos means to you, and how much he means to Kevin… and I really would let the two of you keep him."

His words leave Cecil feeling sick all over again, and he tries to make his voice stay level as he replies. "I won't give in to you. Not now. Not ever. No matter what you do."

Hartley sighs. "You're just as stubborn as your double," he remarks. "The only trouble is, Kevin had years of conditioning by the Bloodstone to make him more pliable. But you… you're untouched. Unbroken. You… are going to require more work."

And then he smiles. "And I'm the leader of Strexcorp, Cecil. Work is what we _do_. Work hard… _play hard_."

He turns to Kevin, tugging him in closer and kissing him, and that's when Cecil snaps. He leaps to his feet with a sudden, primal roar; purple light glowing at his fingertips, thinking of nothing but the urge to _destroy this monster_. A vibrant burst of energy blazes forwards, but Hartley merely raises an idle hand without even flinching and a translucent shield flares up in front of him, deflecting the energy away and making it skitter off into nothingness.

Cecil freezes. Hartley gives him a rather colder smirk. "You really think your little human tricks mean _anything_ to me? Foolish boy. I'm not walking in your limited form any longer. I am a _highborn demon of the First Infernal Plane_. I could snap you in two without blinking."

"Then you might as well go ahead and do it, because I will _never_ give you what you want," Cecil retorts, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

"You will," Hartley replies, calmer again. "Of course you will. You're just like Kevin. Brave, noble, powerful… and so very corruptible."

"You're wrong," Cecil insists. "You didn't corrupt Kevin. You mind-controlled him. It isn't the same. Corruption requires choice."

"He's under my control now, it's true," Hartley says. "But he wasn't actively soul-bound when he was my fixer for twenty years, and you know it. He was in the sway of the Bloodstone, yes, but as we _all_ know, bloodstone doesn't actively mind-control anyone. It just makes them more suggestible. And Kevin… oh, he was so _easily_ seduced by power. Coupled with the influence of the Bloodstone… he honestly couldn't fall quicker. He _wanted_ to become what I made him. And he was happy, you know. For a long, long time. He was _happy_. You could be, too. Happy, and _powerful_. There's room at my side for both of you."

"I would rather _die_ ," Cecil retorts.

Hartley smiles again. "There are things so much worse than death, Cecil. You need to learn that quickly, or this is going to be far harder for you. To that end, there's something you need to see. Something that might motivate you to accept the truth. Go to the edge of the plateau and look down."

Cecil folds his arms and glowers. Hartley sighs. "Save us all some time and do as you're told. Otherwise I'll have Kevin drag you over at knifepoint. You really do need to learn to pick your battles more carefully."

For a long moment, Cecil still doesn't move, but then – glare unfading – he drops his arms and paces over to the edge of the plateau. There's a wall – coming to hip-height – which has been blocking his view of what's beyond, but once he gets closer he can see.

And his heart nearly stops.

The plateau sits on the edge of a high, rocky ridge (not a mountain but… alarmingly similar), and beneath it is a vast, flat plain. And on that plain, arranged in rows, are hundreds of demon-enforcers, blades at their hips, standing to attention.

"…is that supposed to impress me?" Cecil manages.

Hartley rises to his feet, pacing closer, Kevin following at his side. "No, Cecil. It isn't meant to impress you. It's meant to terrify you. This is just one small portion of my army here on the First; every one of them trained to fight and to kill and to die in Strexcorp's name. In _my_ name. They'll be accompanying us when we return to your plane, and Cecil, the longer you draw this out, the more people I'll have them kill. They'll raze Night Vale to the ground in the blink of an eye and they'll enjoy it. I'll enjoy it, too. That little backwater of yours really needs to be taught a lesson…"

"They certainly taught you one," Cecil points out, tone icy. "Because it wasn't Strexcorp who won the day, was it? Strexcorp, with all your enforcers and your power and your might, and _we're_ the ones who triumphed. Though I guess you might have forgotten that part, given that you technically didn't live to see it. Turns out you really _should_ be afraid of an adjunct from the Fourth…"

He knows he's asking for it now, but the terror is getting the better of him. Plus, he isn't wrong.

Hartley gives Kevin a nod, and the man moves immediately: seizing Cecil with frightening speed and pushing him onto his knees once more, blade pressed to his throat.

"I do love how insolent you are," Hartley says, easily. "It will make my inevitable victory all the more sweeter for being hard-won. And you…" he reaches out, trailing fingertips over Cecil's cheek, and Kevin holds him tighter at that, "…you have _no idea_ just how much I want you…"

"I'll die _long_ before I let that happen," Cecil breathes, though his voice is shaking. But then, it's hard not to be terrified when – on top of everything else – Hartley is actively hitting on him.

That look is in his eyes again; the same look he so often gives Kevin, and Cecil feels sick to see it.

"I told you there are many things worse than death, Cecil," Hartley reminds him. "And I can show you them. I can show you _all of them_ …"

He gives Kevin another nod, and Cecil finds himself yanked quickly to his feet. Hartley meets his eyes for a moment, a very predatory look in his own, and then he turns; stalking off and clearly expecting Kevin to follow.

Which he does, without hesitation, and so do the six enforcers standing behind the throne. They head off beyond the plateau, down another set of rough-hewn steps, and as they do Cecil can suddenly see what lies ahead.

And it makes that army look like nothing.

Beyond the ridge, at the foot of the crags leading up to the castle, is a vast field of bloodstone. It's gashed across the darker rock like a wound, with spires reaching maybe fifteen feet high, and there are clear paths between the chunks of crystal.

What's worse, those paths look too deliberate to be natural, and Cecil remembers what Hartley said about the bloodstone when they first got here. That he had whole _gardens_ of it. Because that's what this is: a garden of angry red crystal, shaped and kept and cultivated into a landscape of poison.

And it _sings_ , soft and symphonic and undeniably pleased with itself.

Cecil's footing actually falters, and he's too horror-struck for words.

"Stunning, isn't it?" Hartley says, sounding oddly fond, as surveys the sight before them. "Its power is a little different here, given the lack of a star to draw strength from, but it's still surprisingly strong when you get close to it. Or… so I'm told, at least. It doesn't affect me in the slightest, after all. You, on the other hand, it will affect quite significantly."

"I know how to fight it," Cecil replies, trying to remind himself of the fact as much as anything else. "If you think this is a quick way to take control of me, you're going to be disappointed."

Hartley smiles again, wicked and pleased. "This isn't about controlling you. That will come later. This is about _hurting you_. About making you understand the consequences of resisting me. You see, here on the First, what bloodstone lacks in the mind-control department, it makes up for in the _hallucinogenic_ field. I told you there were things worse than death, Cecil… and I told you I could show you them."

Cecil goes cold all over again, because that… that's a special kind of hell, and it's one he's not at all sure he can resist for long.

But he can't give in. Refusing to dignify Hartley with a response, he instead looks over his shoulder at Kevin. "Are you seriously going to let him do this to me?"

"He's my leader, Cecil, you know that," Kevin replies. "I trust in his plan. Besides… the sooner you come around to our way of thinking, the better."

"But this isn't your way of thinking!" Cecil exclaims, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. "He's mind-controlling you. He's making you do things that will _horrify_ you when we finally snap you out of it. Resist it. Fight it. Fight him!"

"Cecil, Cecil, none of this is going to make any difference," Hartley cuts in, smoothly. "You can't fight a soul-bind like this. It's _absolute_. And the best part is… Kevin wanted it. You should have seen him, the night years ago when we performed the ritual. He was _begging_ me to do it. Begging to be mine forever."

"He is _not yours!_ " Cecil explodes, his words a mixture of anger and terror. Because… they're inside the field of bloodstone now, and walking along one of the winding paths between the spires. It's like a maze in here, and he can already feel himself forgetting the way out.

And the _song_. The song is stronger close up. It slips into his soul, tugging at him, pressing him down, and he has to concentrate to hold it off.

"But I am," Kevin says, easily, as he pushes Cecil forwards into a small clearing between the tall crystal spires. "And soon… you will be too."

Cecil turns back, in time to see Hartley watching him, with an arm around Kevin's waist, and a wing half-folded over his shoulder. "Enjoy yourself in here, Cecil," Hartley says. "The exits are all guarded, though I doubt you'll get far enough to find one. We'll talk again when you've had a chance to come to terms with the reality of all this…"

And he turns, walking off with Kevin still at his side, and in moments they've disappeared amidst the walls of angry, thrumming red.

And Cecil is alone.

For a moment, he's struck by panic; the song slipping into his blood, insidious and inescapable, and then it seems to subside. He can fight this. He's sure he can fight this. He resisted the superpowered Bloodstone during the revolution in Desert Bluffs, after all. So he can resist this too. He'll resist, he'll get out of here, and then he'll show Hartley just what…

It's at this point that Cecil tries to take a step, and immediately falls to his knees as he's hit by a wave of _pressure_ ; like a headache but without the pain. He can feel it spreading all the way through his body, as the garden of bloodstone exerts its will over him, and instinct makes him try to fight it.

He remembers how. _Hear the song. Hear it as it **really** is. Listen through the lies to the terrible truth beneath…_

And, for a few moments, he's sure it's working. Only, when he tries to stand… he can't. The _pressure_ is too much, and he can _feel_ the bloodstones not wanting to let him.

But it's definitely different to the way the bloodstones on his own plane have felt. This doesn't make him want to submit, to give in, to sink down, but it does want to overwhelm him nonetheless, and he wonders why, if not to…

And then he sees a figure step into view from behind the glittering red spires.

It's Kevin. Or… is it Kevin? Didn't he just leave with Hartley? The demon isn't with him anymore, and he looks different, or… is it just the way the light plays off him? He's covered in blood, but it's clearly not his own, and his knife is drawn, and the smile on his face is _euphoric_.

"It's amazing in here, isn't it?" Kevin says. Or… what looks like Kevin, at least. Because, right now, Cecil is not sure at all.

" _Help me_ ," Cecil implores, going for broke. "We're alone now. We can get out of this place together."

The figure in front of him seems to glow a brighter red, and Cecil starts to feel more and more that this isn't Kevin. That he's hallucinating.

"Oh, Cecil, you don't need my help," maybe-Kevin tells him. "You're doing just fine on your own. Carlos is alone and terrified, and I'm once more in the thrall of the man who nearly destroyed my life. Who _will_ destroy my life, now you've handed me back to him. And you did all that by yourself."

"I never wanted any of this!" Cecil insists. "I'd rather die than see either of you hurt!"

"And yet, both of us are hurting, and here you are," probably-not-Kevin points out. "Well. Technically speaking, I'm not hurting. But I would be, if I had a drop of free will left."

The aching truth of it flares suddenly; not simple physical pain but _emotional_ pain, and agonising nonetheless. Cecil still can't stand.

"I'll save you," he says, as firmly as he can. "I'll save you both."

"It's too late for that," possibly-Kevin replies. "You know as well as I do that things are meant to be this way. That I was always meant to go back to Strexcorp, and back to Mr Hartley. I'll be just fine like this. And once I turn Carlos… he'll be just fine, too."

"I won't let that happen," Cecil gasps. "I _won't_."

Kevin paces over to him, dropping onto one knee in front of him so they're eye-to-eye, and putting his free hand on Cecil's cheek. And… he certainly _feels_ real.

What if he is? What if this isn't an illusion?

"Cecil, Cecil," Kevin says, almost soothingly, "you can't stop it. The sooner you accept that, the easier this will be. And then… you can be like me. You can live a lie that will make all the pain go away. All the _truth_. You won't have to think about how you've doomed us. You can just concentrate on being _so euphorically happy_."

" _Stop_ ," Cecil gasps, half-demand and half-plea. "You're not real. You're _not real_. You're the bloodstones, lying to me."

Kevin slips fingertips under Cecil's jaw and tilts his head back. "Am I? Are you sure? Do you really want to risk it?"

Cecil's heart is racing harder and harder. He _knows_ , rationally, that he needs to fight this. That, whether the man in front of him is real or not, his words are only meant to do harm. That it's either the bloodstone talking, or the soul-bind.

But resistance isn't easy. Not when he can feel his lover's fingertips on his skin. Not when he feels sure, so sure, that he himself is in some way responsible for what's happened to them all. Because… because he is, isn't he? Or…

Maybe-Kevin pauses a second, then lets his hand drop with a soft sigh. "You've always been so stubborn. Don't you see that it just invites more pain? _Inflicts_ more pain? Give in. Give in and the pain will go away…"

"… _no_ …" Cecil manages, curling in on himself as the pressure in his head builds and builds; so intense now that it hurts. "I won't. I won't let this happen. I won't…"

"Oh, you will," Kevin purrs, rising to his feet and backing away. "Sooner or later, Cecil… you will. And you know it. And if you keep fighting, if you insist on being stubborn to the end… you know what will happen…"

Cecil looks up, and feels all of a sudden as though his heart is going to stop. Kevin is still standing in front of him, but now Carlos is here too, held in the other man's grip. He meets Cecil's eyes, terror in his own.

"Please," Carlos whispers. "Please don't let him–"

"Carlos!" Cecil shouts, but it's too late. Unable to move, unable to rise to his feet and intervene, all he can do is watch in anguish as Carlos jolts from behind; horror on his face, a wordless plea slipping his lips right before he drops to the ground at Kevin's feet, covered in his own blood.

"You could have stopped this, Cecil," Kevin tells him, red-streaked knife in hand. "You could have saved him."

" _No_ …" Cecil gasps, willing this not to be real; willing the bloodstone to _get out of his head_. "No!"

Somehow, he finds the strength to launch to his feet, lunging clumsily forwards… only to fall to his knees as the figures in front of him vanish at once. Cecil collapses against the rocky ground, shaking all over, agonised by what he's just seen and still not even certain if it was real, or a dream, or a premonition, or…

He curls in on himself, closing his eyes, trying to blot out everything. Trying, desperately, not to give in.

"…There you are," comes a voice, all of a sudden. Cecil looks up immediately, not knowing whether to be relieved or horrified anew, as he watches a figure pace into the bloodstone clearing and hurry over to him.

It's Carlos, and seeing him alive is such a relief that Cecil can't help leaning into the other man's touch, as he drops down onto his knees in front of Cecil, resting their foreheads together.

But it's a short-lived relief, because once the initial moment has passed, Cecil has a chance to process what he's seeing.

The man in front of him is Carlos. Or… he looks like Carlos, at least. But he's different. He's dressed in a black labcoat, and his still-perfect hair is styled differently, and his eyes…

…his eyes are like obsidian. Cecil instinctively tries to pull back.

"Carlos," he gasps. "Carlos, what happened to you?"

"Nothing happened to me," Carlos insists, taking his hand. He feels so real. So alive. So _wrong_. "Everything is fine. I'm right where I'm meant to be… at the forefront of Strexcorp's Science Division."

"What?" Cecil exclaims. "But… you would never…"

"Not to begin with," Carlos tells him, easily. "I always take a while to come around to things, don't I? But once you and Kevin convinced me of the truth, I've been so much happier."

"The truth?"

"The truth, yes. I see the benefits of being part of Strexcorp. I know, now, just what I can accomplish as part of this incredible organisation. And that's all thanks to you, Cecil. To you and Kevin. You made me see the light…"

That word is not a good word. _Made_. Cecil feels a fresh burst of horror hit him. "I'd never hurt you. _Never_."

Carlos smiles. "But you did, Cecil. You, and Kevin… over and over and _over_ until I realised what a mistake it was to fight Strexcorp. Until I saw just what I could accomplish if I let go of my fear and my doubt and became what I was meant to be. And now… oh, Cecil, I'm so happy. And so productive. And it's all thanks to you."

"No…" Cecil whispers, finally trying to back away. "I wouldn't. I _wouldn't!_ "

"You did," Carlos tells him, putting a hand on his cheek. "You were so good at it. You _liked_ it. You realised just what all that power of yours could really do."

He leans in closer, murmuring softly in Cecil's ear. "You could do more. You could overthrow Hartley and take Strexcorp for yourself. You're stronger than him. We both know you don't like the way he looks at Kevin. You could kill him and assume your rightful place at the top. Kevin would follow you in an instant, and I… well, even if I somehow wanted to resist, you'd never let me…"

The thought seems so alien and so horrifying to Cecil that it takes him a moment to process it. Him. Him, as the leader of Strexcorp? Why would he ever want such a thing? What possible use could…

… _Kevin at his side, and Carlos kneeling at their feet, and the whole world bent to their will, and no one would touch them again, not ever, not **ever**_ …

…no, no, no!

"I don't want that," Cecil insists, his voice shaking. "I don't want to rule the world. I just want to live safely in it, with the people I love."

"Cecil," Carlos says, "the world is a dangerous place. Very dangerous. _Quantifiably_ dangerous. If you really want us to be safe… you need to step up."

"And what? Murder everyone who stands in my way?"

"If that's what it takes."

"I'm not that person. I don't do those things. I _won't_ do those things."

Carlos pulls back a little, obsidian-black eyes meeting Cecil's, and he sighs. "But you will. That's the point. Everyone breaks eventually, and you… you love too much, and too strongly, not to give in. But it's OK. It's OK. Once you do, things can start getting better. And then you'll understand what you were always meant to be."

"Don't," Cecil gasps. "I won't. I won't ever…"

"You will," Carlos tells him again, rising to his feet. "And I'm looking forward to it."

He paces off without another word. Instinct makes Cecil try to follow, but once more he finds he can't stand, and the pressure in his head seems to build even higher, and before long he's curled right in on himself again, hands pressed over his eyes, trying to fight a new wave of pain.

"…stop…" he whispers, softly. "…please, stop…"

But that somehow makes the pressure flare even stronger, as if the bloodstones have heard him and are upping their onslaught. And Cecil can feel how easy it would be, to stop fighting, to let them slip inside his head. To give in, to give Hartley what he wants, to bring an end to all this and…

"…it would be so easy, wouldn't it?" comes another voice, from close by.

A different voice. _His_ voice.

Cecil looks up, and sees himself, and even if the other-him hadn't spoken, he'd know it wasn't Kevin. It's _him_. He watches in a renewed kind of shock as the other-him paces closer, with something like contempt in his eyes.

And those eyes are black as obsidian. There's a smile on the other-him's face that is very Kevin-esque too, but somehow _darker_ , and it's deeply unsettling to see. What's more, the other-him is dressed in a way that screams 'supervillain': a dark and perfectly-tailored waistcoat and trousers, a deep-purple tie set with a glittering Strexcorp pin, and a garment that is half-coat and half-cloak over the top.

And a knife, in his hand. A shimmering, golden knife, hilted with a stylised sun.

"…oh good, an actual evil double, I always wanted one of those…" Cecil murmurs, vaguely aware that he's slipping into delirium.

His other-self laughs. "I'm not your evil double, Cecil," he says. "You don't _have_ an evil double. You _are_ the evil double. Everyone thought it was Kevin, with his long history in Strex and his love of bladed weapons, but they all missed the truth. None of them realised it was me. _You_."

"I'm not talking to you," Cecil insists. "I talked to the others in case they were real, but I know you aren't. So you can just give up and go away."

"Do I look like the type to take orders?" his other asks. "No. Oh no. I don't take orders, past-me. I _give_ them. And no one resists for long…"

He holds out his free hand, and purple light glows at his fingertips, swirling and spiralling over his palm, full of threat. "Things were so much better when I understood the truth."

"What truth?"

"That I'm the joint-most-powerful human of the age. That _no one_ can stand against me. That I can have whatever I want, _be_ whatever I want."

Cecil narrows his eyes at his other-self. "But at what cost?"

"At _any_ cost. All who stand against me will fall, sooner or later. Usually sooner."

"So, what? You'll just kill anyone who gets in your way?"

"If I have to. Though I'd much rather break them into line. Good employees are so hard to find."

"…you sound like him. Like _Hartley_."

His other-self smiles. "Well, Derek did have a few good ideas, after all. He may have been no match for me, but he knew how to run a company. How to inspire fear and loyalty all at once. How to take what he wanted."

The words make Cecil's blood go cold. This is just… too much. He could never do this. Never _be_ this. He could never go so far as to surpass the horror of a man like Derek Hartley…

…could he?

"And what about the people who matter?" Cecil demands. "What about Kevin and Carlos?"

"My loyal fixer and our oh-so-obedient lover," his other-self purrs, fondly. "Things have been so much better since they came around to my way of thinking. It wasn't an easy process, for either of them, but… they learned."

"You're a monster," Cecil tells his other, with all the energy he has left. "You're everything I hate. Everything I strive never to become."

"Cecil, oh Cecil… I'm your future. And part of you already knows it."

"No. _No_." Masters of us all, please, no.

"You know what the alternative is," his other says, pacing closer, staring down at him. "Carlos dies, and Kevin is broken forever. Become me, take what's yours… or lose everything."

"That is _not_ the only alternative," Cecil insists.

"Give me another," his evil-self counters.

"I… don't know yet," Cecil says. "But I know there is one. I _believe_ it, with all my heart."

His other laughs. "You don't. Oh, no, you don't. You want to, but you can't, because you know you've never faced anything like this before. You can't call on all your little friends from home, or discover some mysterious prophecy about how it's all going to be OK. It isn't. It isn't, unless you _make it_. And that's what frightens you, Cecil. You're not scared that something will happen to Kevin and Carlos. You're scared of what you're going to have to do to stop it."

The purple light fades from his other-self's fingertips, and he drops down in front of Cecil, slipping the tip of that golden knife under his jaw. "Don't be," he says. "The first step is the hardest, but once you take it, you'll soon find that you can do it. That you're _meant_ to do it."

"I won't," Cecil insists, his voice shaking, the pain building, but refusing to give in. " _I will never become you_."

His other's dark eyes narrow. "Then you're in my way," he says.

And he lunges forwards with the knife. Cecil _howls_ in horror, convinced he's about to die, braced for the pain… only for the illusion to fade all at once, leaving him exhausted and alone.

He curls in on himself as tightly as he can, fighting back tears; the pressure so intense that it's as though he's miles underwater. For what feels like a long time he can't move, save for a slight rocking as he tries to fight the sensation, over and over, never making any headway. And then… he hears footsteps, and looks up, and sees Kevin: blood-streaked and euphoric.

And his double smiles. "Let's start again, shall we?"

***

It's like being caught in a loop of the deepest hell imaginable. First Kevin tells him how he's failed, but insists it's OK. Then he watches Carlos die. Then a different Carlos tells him – in increasingly graphic detail – how _happy_ he is to have been broken.

And then his other-self taunts him with what he could become… and how he could stop all this, if he did.

Cecil has no idea how long he's been in here. The pressure-pain feels like a part of him, now, and he aches from the unrelenting tension. And then, all of a sudden, the cycle breaks, and the demons come. He's aware of distant voices: of Kevin, perhaps, telling the enforcers what to do, but it's all so vague and faraway that it could just be part of the constant onslaught of hallucinations.

They take him out of the bloodstone garden – or do they? – and half-carry, half-drag him over the rocky landscape until finally dropping him down on the ground, face-first… somewhere.

Where? Where is he? Is any of this real? Or is he still surrounded by angry red and watching his nightmares come to life? And the pressure… is it gone, or has he just adjusted to it? Like… like the song… the song that's in his head… the song that never goes away…

The footsteps of the demons recede into nothingness, and Cecil hears a distant yelp of alarm, followed by a scramble of movement. The next second, he feels someone roll him onto his back, and a hand on the side of his face.

"Cecil? Cecil… can you hear me?"

Cecil blinks up at the person above him, and sees that it's Carlos. Or… is it?

"…Carlos?" he murmurs, hazily. "Are you… are you real?"

"Of course I'm real!" Carlos replies, sounding horrified. "I… Cecil, what happened to you?"

Cecil tries to answer. He really does. But… he can't. He can't, because it's too awful, and because he's just watched Carlos die over and over, and because he's going to turn into a monster, and…

…no, no, no, he isn't, he isn't, he's _here_ , and Carlos is _here_ , and he's **real**.

Relief hits like a tidal wave, and Cecil launches upwards with all the strength he has left, throwing his arms around Carlos and holding on as tight as he can.

"I thought…" Cecil manages, unable to keep the terror from his voice. "I… Carlos, are you all right?"

"Am _I_ all right?" Carlos repeats, sounding stunned by the question and pulling Cecil in tighter. "Cecil… what did that monster _do_ to you?"

Cecil still doesn't want to tell him. Not any of it. But… it's _Carlos_. His Carlos. He closes his eyes, curling in even more; trying to take comfort in the contact until he finally manages to speak.

"Hartley showed me an army," he starts out, finally. "A vast army of demons. He doesn't just want me to open a portal for him and the rest of the Management Board. He wants to take hundreds of those enforcers, too. He wants Desert Bluffs back, but Night Vale? He… Carlos, he wants to destroy it. Wants to kill _everyone_. And… and then…"

He doesn't want to say it. He can't say it. He has to say it.

"…He showed me where the Bloodstone came from," Cecil goes on, eventually, voice hollow. "A whole garden of it, stretching out and out and… and all of it glowing, _singing_ , and I…"

He shudders. "…It made me see things. I couldn't tell if any of it was real. But I…"

Carlos wraps him in tightly again. "It's OK," he whispers, sounding utterly horrified by the thought. "It's OK. You're with me, now."

It's the only saving grace in all this. And, for another moment, Cecil just lets Carlos hold him, trying to draw strength from the contact. Trying not to think about what all those hallucinations told him.

"What about Kevin?" Carlos asks, after a moment.

"Still completely under Hartley's control," Cecil answers. "Nothing I said got through to him. Not even a little. It's just horrifying. I…"

Another hollow pause. "…I don't know how to save him."

"We'll find a way," Carlos insists, and the determination in his voice breaks Cecil a little, because he _knows_ a way, but the path is one that will only lead him to hell. 

But his time to find another road is rapidly running out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This sequence was always going to be a horrifying one. I've known the basics of what happened since back when I was first plotting _Da Capo Al Fine_ \- in particular, the sequence in the bloodstone garden - but it's safe to say that the specifics of it got exponentially worse when I realised that this is right before the point where the timelines diverge at the start of _Believer_ , and as such I was writing a prequel scene for that, too.
> 
> Luckily, we _are_ still in Chiralityverse, so coming up next is the resolution your heart desires. And... a part of the fallout you didn't see.
> 
> ...and I think the next chapter is definitely the last. Definitely definitely. This time!
> 
> Catch you all soon... oh, and I know I'm a few days early again, but... _Happy June 15th!_ ;-)


	6. Wrap Yourself Around Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings, dear readers. I return!
> 
> So, you remember how I said this one would be four chapters, and then I said five, and then I said absolutely definitely certainly six?
> 
> Well... it's seven. But, fear not, the last chapter is (as is apparently becoming traditional) a shorter one, and I have both of them for you today. And why, I hear you ask, did this crazy thing just get longer again? Let's just say that, as I was writing it, I realised there was another scene I needed to include from Cecil's POV and - although it's also one you've seen before - I couldn't help but think that, if you'd gotten this far, you'd probably approve!
> 
> As a result, I've put the rating of this one all the way up to the top, because (you guessed it) this marks the first time I've revisited a sequence involving smut. But it was important, see, for the _narrative_..!
> 
> Also, it pleases me greatly to be posting this one today, June 16th, as that is the date on which the first scene actually takes place. I like chronology, you know (or, I would, if time existed). So... Happy June 16th, I guess!

Despite it seeming impossible, things go from bad to worse.

Aidan Outteridge returns, his plan seemingly a success, but the victory is short-lived. Before long, Aidan's former colleagues in the Strexcorp Management Board have captured him, and the one last chance to stop all this lies in ruins.

And then Hartley delivers the ultimatum: now or never. Either Cecil does what he wants, and opens the gateway back to Night Vale, or Carlos dies.

Cecil doesn't know what to do. He can't inflict Hartley and his allies on the world again. He can't. But… he can't let anything happen to Carlos, either. His chest aches with the weight of the decision, with the knowledge that he has no visible way around it, and he's paralysed by the horror.

He's always said he'd do anything for his lovers. Anything. So does that include damning hundreds – perhaps thousands – of others to death, or worse?

He doesn't know. And somehow, that hurts even more.

They return to the crumbling amphitheatre at the centre of Derek Hartley's realm: Hikaru Tachibana keeping hold of Cecil, Lilith Wallace keeping hold of Carlos, and Nina Belmonte dragging a very sullen-looking Aidan. Hartley himself leads the way, though Kevin isn't with him right now, given that he's gone off to find Lauren.

Hartley paces up onto the central dais, Nina holding Aidan off to one side, and Hikaru and Lilith holding Cecil and Carlos off to the other side. Cecil manages to meet Carlos' eyes for a moment, and the horror in them makes his chest ache even harder.

He can't. He can't do it. He can't let Hartley hurt Carlos. He _can't_.

…he's going to have to say yes. He's going to have to open the gateway.

Maybe he really has broken.

"This day will be remembered for a thousand aeons," Hartley starts out, sickeningly triumphant. "So begins the second golden age of Strexcorp; the dawn of a day on which the sun will never set. Now… where is my darling girl?"

"Right here, Dad," comes Lauren's voice, as she approaches from the back of the amphitheatre. "Fashionably late, of course!"

"Of course," her father answers, fondly. "And where is my beloved fixer..?"

"I'm here, sir," Kevin says, pacing in from the far side; and not, Cecil is vaguely aware, in the same direction Lauren has just appeared from. There's a moment's pause, and then Kevin looks up at Hartley, with a gracious nod. "May I?"

Hartley smiles brightly. "Absolutely, my boy. I want you by my side for this most monumental of events."

Kevin smiles too, glancing over at Cecil and Carlos for an instant… and there's something in his eyes, as he does. Something that's…

…wait…

Kevin walks up the steps of the dais, standing in front of Hartley; utter devotion in every breath. He pauses there, looking up at the slightly taller man, the very picture of loyalty.

And then, all of a sudden, there's a flash of red in his left hand as something drops into view from where it's been hidden up his sleeve. For an instant that lasts an eternity, Cecil stares at the thing in question – knowing it's that knife-like shard of the original Bloodstone – and then Kevin steps up and stabs Derek Hartley squarely in the chest with it.

Existence itself _shudders_ , like a thousand circles closing.

"That was for Desert Bluffs, _demon_ ," Kevin hisses, staring Hartley in the face, unbroken and victorious.

Whether from the shock or the wound, Hartley can't even speak. Kevin keeps staring at him for a moment before giving the Bloodstone blade a sharp twist, pressing in even closer. "And that?" he adds, the slightest waver in his voice that reveals an old, old pain. " _That was for Callum_."

Cecil gasps, softly, and in all the time he's known Kevin, he's never been so proud to be his double as he is right now.

Kevin, meanwhile, stares unblinkingly at his former employer for one final second before yanking the Bloodstone shard back, and – the instant he does – the demon in front of him drops straight to the floor.

He's done it. He's done it.

 _Derek Hartley is dead_.

For a long moment, no one breathes, and then Kevin breaks the Bloodstone shard in two over his knee, dropping the pieces down on Hartley's body before bending to draw the fallen demon's knife from its sheath.

The fallen demon's _extra-planar_ knife. Because it's clear what's coming next.

" **No!** " Nina howls, in grief and rage.

" _Cecil, now!_ " Kevin shouts.

Relief and renewed pride hit like a tidal wave, and all hell breaks loose. Nina flings Aidan aside and advances on Kevin, who paces slowly down the steps from the dais, Hartley's knife held in one hand and drawing his own with the other, and he looks so _magnificent_ that Cecil can't breathe for a second.

Then the reality of the situation kicks in, and Lilith tries to kill Carlos. But Cecil doesn't even have to _think_ about what comes next, because he already knows. He knows, and he understands now.

He's powerful. He's _immensely_ powerful. And that means this goes the way _he_ wants it to… and, more than that, he doesn't have to be scared of it. He doesn't. On some level, he isn't even sure why he ever was.

 _He's in control_.

Cecil throws out his arms, and a shockwave of purple light blasts both Lilith and Hikaru a good twenty feet away. Both demons hit the ground roughly, turning their ethereal blue eyes back towards him in obvious rage, but then clearly deciding that Kevin is the smarter target here.

They do need Cecil alive, after all, and they obviously don't think Carlos is a threat. But Kevin is advancing on them all with an extra-planar weapon, calm and fearless and blatantly intent on one thing.

Cecil's chest aches with pride again. Pride, and love, and the deepest relief he's ever known.

And confusion, too. How is this happening? How did Kevin break free of the soul-bind?

"You're going to die for this," Nina growls. "You're going to die in _pain_ , your boyfriends are going to die in _pain_ , and then we will burn both your precious towns to the _ground_."

"No," Kevin answers, softly. "We aren't. And you won't."

"Enough of this!" Hikaru yells. "Enforcers!"

All three demons launch themselves at Kevin. Cecil is struck by sudden horror for a second, but it quickly fades back when he sees how calm and unfazed Kevin still is; deflecting blow after blow with ease, deadly silver shining in each hand.

Reassured, for the moment, that Kevin is holding his own, Cecil races over to Carlos and throws both arms around him, holding on as tight as he can. "I love you," he gasps, the relief so intense that it takes his breath away. "I love you."

"I love you too," Carlos chokes out, holding on just as tightly.

No one will hurt him again. _No one will hurt him again_.

A fresh burst of howls erupts from outside the amphitheatre and, through the stone arches, a swarm of demon-enforcers charges into view, hurtling towards them, blades bared.

Some part of Cecil is vaguely aware that he ought to be afraid. But… he isn't. Without even needing to think about it, he holds up a hand, and a burst of purple light races upwards and outwards, growing into a glittering, translucent dome that encompasses the whole amphitheatre, and which none of the enforcers outside can pass through.

They don't get to win. Not today, not ever.

And certainly not whilst Kevin is about to claim his own perfect victory. He's fighting with breathless precision, fearless and beautiful, even in the face of three angry, powerful highborn demons. Within another moment, Hikaru goes down, taking both knives straight to the chest. Kevin drops him without blinking, and then goes for the other two with renewed intensity.

"We won't let you do this," Lilith hisses. "We won't let you undo _decades_ of work."

"You can't stop me," Kevin tells her. "Not this time. I am the Voice of Desert Bluffs, and I have _spoken_."

Carlos gives a little gasp of delight, and it's a sentiment Cecil shares wholeheartedly.

And then, outside the glowing energy shield, there's a new burst of clamouring and howling as the angry enforcers turn to find themselves faced with a second wave of winged figures, who howl as they launch into the fray.

"About damn time," Aidan mutters, staggering to his feet.

In the commotion, Lilith drops her guard, and Kevin strikes a deathblow; immediately yanking the borrowed blade free and then advancing on Nina, spinning both knives once as he does.

"You're a traitor," Nina hisses. "I don't know how you did it, but I _will_ make you pay."

"I already paid," Kevin replies. "In blood and sunlight, I paid. And now I can finally do what I was born to do."

Nina glares at him. Kevin smiles.

" _Fix things_."

There's one last roar, a scramble of blades… and then Nina Belmonte drops to the rocky ground, dead.

And it's over.

Or, this part is. There's a fairly sizeable battle still going on outside the energy shield protecting the whole amphitheatre, but it feels distant, and somehow insignificant compared to the moment in hand.

Aidan Outteridge stares. From the back of the dais, Lauren Hartley-Mallard stares.

And, surrounded by the bodies of the fallen Strexcorp Management Board, streaked with blood, Kevin turns to meet eyes with Cecil and Carlos. He slips his own knife back into its sheath and lets the borrowed blade drop to the ground, then takes a few paces towards them before stopping, suddenly, as if he doesn't dare come any closer.

The shock reaches breaking point, and Cecil can finally ask the crucial question.

"… _How?_ " he gasps. "How did you break free?"

"I didn't," Kevin whispers. "I was lucid the entire time."

Joy and horror collide, relentless and heady, and it's a moment before Cecil can speak.

"But… the soul-bind…" he manages.

"The soul-bind," Kevin repeats, softly. "The soul-bind I wasn't supposed to remember. The soul-bind I found out about, the day I ended my company bind with Azatothoth the Bloodthirsty and established a private one instead. The one he detected when he was carrying out the standard background check. The one I broke by performing a very complex ritual, in the basement of the house that doesn't exist… right before the two of you showed up. That one. It was long gone. But I knew Hartley would invoke it. The moment I saw him alive, I knew. So… I played along. I made him believe it had worked. I told you from the start: I'm a very good liar. And if there had been any way to warn you, to reassure you… any way at all… I would have done it. But I couldn't take the risk. I only had one chance to get close to him, with a weapon that could kill him. I had to make it work. _I had to_."

It all makes perfect sense… that day, in the house that doesn't exist. The intensity of the warding. How scared and unsettled Kevin seemed. What he must have been going through. And, though he himself could never have known, Cecil's chest aches all over again at the thought.

Kevin falls down onto one knee, head bowed. "Forgive me," he whispers.

Masters of us all. He thinks this is it, doesn't he? He thinks what he's done is more than they can take. Thinks they _won't_ forgive him. And the shock of that makes Cecil freeze for a second, right before he paces straight over to Kevin, reaching down to yank the man to his feet. Kevin gives a soft sound of alarm at the action, evidently thinking something bad is about to happen, and then Cecil wraps him in as tight as he can possibly manage.

And Kevin _gasps_ in relief, like he's just discovered oxygen for the first time; wrapping his own arms around Cecil and holding on. He's shaking from head to toe, but he's here, and he's alive, and he's free, and Cecil is so happy that he can't quite process it all at once.

He hears movement off to the side, as Carlos hurries over to the two of them, throwing his own arms around them and holding on as well. And both doubles move a hand to pull Carlos in, so they're all clinging to each other, not wanting to let go even a little.

They're OK. _They're OK_.

It's a long time before any of them seems able to move. When they finally do, they pull back enough to meet each other's eyes, but no more than that, as if breaking too much contact would be more than they could bear.

And that's when Carlos gasps.

"Kevin," he breathes. "Your _eyes_."

"What about them?" Kevin asks, instinctively raising a hand to his face, renewed alarm in his expression… but, as he does, Cecil sees too, and a fresh surge of happiness hits him.

Carlos smiles. "They're _blue_."

And they are. The perpetual obsidian-black is gone, to be replaced with a deep, natural, familiar blue.

Kevin gasps. "They're… I… They're like Cecil's?"

Something about that is so wonderfully adorable that Cecil smiles at once, lifting his hands to cup Kevin's face, brushing away the tears that have slipped down his cheeks.

"Yes," he breathes. "Just like mine."

That makes Kevin give a little sob, though there's a smile on his face too. And after a minute he loses it and pulls them both in again, holding on tight, as if he's scared the moment might break.

But it doesn't. It's _real_.

"You're OK," Cecil whispers, trying to reassure him. To reassure them both. "We're OK."

"I'm so sorry," Kevin gasps. "I'm so sorry for what I put you through. I–"

"Don't be," Cecil insists. "I think you just saved our lives again."

Kevin curls in tighter. "I'm still repaying you for saving mine."

It's a lot more than that this time, though. A lot more. But… that's a conversation for later. Right now, what matters is that they're alive, and they're all right. And… that monster is dead.

And they've won.

***

They make it home.

Seeing Night Vale again is a special kind of relief, and doubly-so when it becomes clear that – in their absence – the second Bloodstone has been destroyed, and the city is safe once more.

And all that's left is to return to their lives. Only, their lives are different now. Not in a bad way, oh no, but they are. There's healing to come, slow and necessary, and Cecil knows it will take time.

But that's OK. What they've been through is not something you recover from overnight.

Kevin especially. He seems more like himself the following day, but with an undertone of something that betrays what he's really going through. Cecil doesn't mention it, though; wanting to give Kevin time to process everything. Knowing that he'll talk about it when he's ready.

And suspecting… talk isn't the only thing he needs.

The evening passes quietly. It's clear that Kevin has something specific on his mind, but Cecil is still set on not pushing him to talk about it. And eventually, as the evening gives way to night, Kevin announces that he's going to bed.

And he sounds like he wants to go alone. So Cecil continues not to question it, giving his double the space he needs, though meeting eyes with Carlos after he's gone. It's clear the other man is concerned, too, but they both seem to be in agreement about not pressing their boyfriend to say more than he's ready to.

After a little longer, both Cecil and Carlos decide it's time to head to bed as well. They pace off together, stepping into the bedroom, and that's when Cecil realises that Kevin isn't asleep. Or anything close.

He's waiting for them, dressed only in his pyjama trousers. As they walk into the room, he meets their eyes – Carlos' first, then Cecil's – before wordlessly dropping down onto one knee, bowing his head and holding something up.

It's his knife, hilt-first. And it's clear what he means by it.

Cecil has known – since the night a week ago, when he first realised that Kevin wanted to surrender – that a moment like this was coming. And he's had a little time – albeit not a lot – to consider what he's going to do, when it does.

Part of him has worried about it. And that's not because he doesn't want to do this – the truth is, he's surprised by just how badly he _does_ want it – but because he knows how important it is, and what it means.

He's aware of Carlos freezing in shock at his side, and Cecil feels more than a little of that surprise himself, because he didn't think this inevitable moment would come so soon. And… because it's so very _real_ , now it has.

Somehow, the world goes still, and Cecil understands – with unshakable certainty – that he can do this. He looks to Carlos first, putting a hand on his shoulder in reassurance, and then turns to Kevin, taking a step closer to him.

…and if he'd known what it would be like, to have this brave, brilliant, incredible man kneeling at his feet, maybe he might have suggested it sooner…

"Tell me what you're asking for," he says, voice soft and sure, and as certain as he feels.

He knows, of course. Oh, he knows. But this isn't about him knowing. This is about Kevin acknowledging it.

"Please," Kevin replies, keeping his head down. "I need to be yours. Both of yours. I…"

He trails off, voice cracking a little, and there's no denying that he's scared. Maybe he thinks Cecil will refuse. Maybe he thinks Cecil _should_ refuse. Either way, Cecil is intent on doing no such thing. He steps in closer still, taking the knife from Kevin – _the knife, **his** knife; the symbol of his power and strength, offered up without hesitation_ – and then resting his free hand on the side of his double's face, gently urging him to look up.

Kevin does so, after a moment; blue eyes full of emotion and _need_.

"Are you sure?" Cecil asks.

"Yes," Kevin replies, his voice heavy with fervour, and he sounds like he did that night in Nebolgorod, months ago, but so much _more_.

"And do you promise that you _will_ tell me to stop if you need me to?"

" _Yes_."

This last part is essential. Cecil needs to know, every single step of the way, that this is right, that Kevin wants it. And that's not just because the certainty will help him do it, but also… also because he wants Kevin to know – beyond a shadow of a doubt – that Cecil would never make him do a single thing he doesn't truly want.

Not like before. Not like _him_.

Cecil nods. "All right," he says. "I want you to lie down on your back, with your hands above your head."

Kevin actually blushes at that, but there's no hesitation in his movements as he obeys, and it's clear just how much he needs this. And as he's going over to the bed, doing as he's told, Carlos steps in closer to Cecil and puts a hand on his arm.

"Let me watch?" he asks, softly, and it seems like an odd request at first, because there's simply no way Cecil would ever leave him out of this. But… he understands, after a moment. The first time Kevin did something like this to Carlos, it was Cecil who was watching, and this is Carlos making it clear he's happy to do the same.

That he wants them to have this. And even if he is just watching… he's going to have an unforgettable view.

Cecil meets his eyes and nods. "Anything for you," he says, and leans in to kiss Carlos, quick and firm. "So long as you stay close."

Very close. It's a sentiment he reinforces as he and Carlos take their own shirts off, and Cecil pulls the other man in for a moment, holding him tight. Then he lets go, so that Carlos can go over to lie down on the bed, next to Kevin, who has already settled in the middle just as Cecil told him.

Time to do this. Knife still in hand, Cecil climbs onto the bed, sliding smoothly into place on top of Kevin, straddling his hips. Kevin gasps in response, and his eyes are so full of need that he doesn't seem able to look anywhere else. And that's just _achingly_ wonderful, in a way Cecil wasn't prepared for, even after having seen the man surrender once before. Because… it's different this time. It's _more_.

"Keep your hands there," Cecil says, nodding to where Kevin has them, up above his head. "If you move them, I'll stop. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Kevin answers, with a nod. "Yes, I understand."

And it's clear from his eyes that he does: not just the instruction to do as he's told, but also the reminder that he can call an end to this, if he needs to. That he still has the choice. That he will _always_ have the choice.

Cecil lifts the knife at last, letting it shimmer in the low lighting. He's seen it so many times – in good ways and bad – and he knows what it represents. Strength. Power. _Danger_. And they're interesting things, because they, too, can be both good and bad. You can threaten a man with a blade like this. You can hurt him. You can kill him. Or… something else entirely.

Slowly, Cecil lowers the blade and touches it to Kevin's chest. That first moment of contact is a strange one, because he can feel all the undertones to this; the weight of them, the history. But, at the same time, he can also feel something primal: the power Kevin has given him, and what it means to wield it.

Cecil moves the blade; slowly, slowly tracing it across Kevin's skin. He keeps the contact light, and careful, watching for the reaction in his double's eyes, and aware there must be a telling one in his own.

" _Oh_ ," Kevin gasps, very softly, and the bliss in his voice is intoxicating.

"You like that?" Cecil asks, feeling braver and more sure with every second.

" _Yes_."

"Should I do it again?"

" _Yes_."

Cecil smiles. It's hard not to smile, when he can see and hear just how much Kevin needs this. "Say please."

And he definitely pitches his tone just right at that, because Kevin's eyes go hazy in response. " _Please_."

That kicks the need in his blood even higher, and Cecil strokes the blade over the top of Kevin's chest again, a little more firmly this time. It gets him quite a gasp from the man beneath him, along with a soft murmur of delight from Carlos which makes it quite clear how much he's enjoying the view.

Confident that he's doing this right, Cecil starts to trace the knife over Kevin's chest, following the contours of his skin. He keeps the movement slow, and careful, not wanting to miss a single reaction. And, with every second that passes, it gets easier and easier.

 _And he likes it_. Cecil couldn't deny that now, even if he wanted to. He's always enjoyed the chance to make his boyfriends happy, and this is no exception, but somehow it's _more_. With every breath, he can see Kevin's mind sinking deeper and deeper in utter bliss, and it's wonderful to watch.

And even more wonderful to cause. Such as when Cecil decides to try carefully brushing the edge of the blade over one of Kevin's nipples, which makes the other man's eyes roll back in delight.

"OhCecil _yes_ ," he manages.

"Good?" Cecil asks, with a smile, and already well-aware of the answer.

All Kevin seems able to do at this is nod emphatically, and that makes Cecil smile again. And… something else, too. It makes him realise he's ready to take the next step. To give voice to the question that Kevin needs to answer, even if it won't be easy.

"I thought so," Cecil remarks. "Now…"

He leans in closer, and presses the blade firmly over Kevin's throat. The other man almost seems to stop breathing, his eyes wide, but he doesn't resist in the slightest.

"…tell me why you need this."

He knows _that_ Kevin needs it, after all. There's no denying it anymore. But _why_ is still important. And… Cecil thinks he knows, but he wants to be sure.

It's a moment before Kevin speaks, and his voice is shaking a little as he does.

"Because I need to be yours. Both of yours. Because I need… I…"

He wavers even more, falling silent for a long, long moment; staring up at Cecil as if suddenly terrified to say the words… and as if, perhaps, understanding that he needs to say them nonetheless. And Cecil – for his part – doesn't push, or speak. He just waits, letting his expression make it clear both that he expects an answer, and that, whatever it is, it won't change anything.

When Kevin finally manages to keep going, he speaks a little quickly, as if hurrying to get the words out before he loses his nerve.

"…Because I've only ever let one person do this to me before, so I need you to do it too, because I want you to have everything. _Everything_. I… I don't want there to be a single good thing left that one of you wasn't the last person to do to me. I…"

And Cecil's heart just breaks. He'd suspected this is the answer he'd get. That the only person Kevin had ever surrendered to, before last week, was… _him_. Hartley. That he'd never gotten to indulge this side of himself with anyone he could really trust. That he needs some good memories, to overwrite the bad ones.

Without waiting, Cecil moves the knife out of the way and surges down to kiss Kevin as hard as he can, full of desperate love, needing him to know that it's OK, that he's safe, that he's loved, that he can have everything he wants and never have to suffer as a result.

At their side, he hears Carlos give a little murmur of delight at the kiss, but he can hear the lingering pain in the other man's tone nonetheless, and he knows he needs to reassure them both.

To seal this victory, this _reclamation_ , in a way that can't ever be denied.

"You're ours," Cecil says, soft and sure, as he pulls back from the kiss enough to meet Kevin's eyes. "And whatever you need to help you feel it, to help you _know_ it, we will give you. Or do to you. _Especially now we know how much you love it_."

" _ **Please**_ ," Kevin gasps, and there's more in that one word than in a lifetime of others.

And suddenly Cecil can feel the world at his fingertips, like he could have everything he wants. Except… he already does.

"Ask me again," he pushes, as a wave of certainty hits him, like a circuit closing in his head… and then his voice drops, and he finds the mindspace he's looking for. " _Beg me again_."

" _Please_ ," Kevin breathes, without hesitation. "Please don't stop."

So, with a smile, Cecil goes back to what he's been doing; carefully tracing the knife over Kevin's chest, across and around, following the contours of his skin. And it's just amazing to watch the way it makes the other man react: the way he surrenders so utterly, his eyes distant but full of trust, his breath a slow litany of bliss.

In the time they've been together, he's seen Kevin happy so very many times, but he doesn't think he's ever seen the other man look as happy as he does now. Except… for that very first night, when he looked like he'd been hauled out of Hell and lifted into the clouds.

If Cecil had known how close to the truth this was, he would have made it happen sooner.

And now… now his mind is in that _place_ , isn't it? The place where it can go, if the circumstances are just right. The place where Carlos can go, too, and won't _that_ be fun to explore, now Cecil understands it better?

" _Oh_ ," Kevin gasps, soft and so far away.

Cecil smiles. "Still good?" he asks, gently.

All Kevin can do at this is make a quiet little sound of happiness, but it's more than answer enough.

"I thought so," Cecil replies.

"…Can I..?" Carlos finally asks, and Cecil is glad about that, because – much as he loves having an audience – he wants Carlos to be a part of this, too.

"Of course," he says.

And whilst Carlos may not be the sort to take charge at a time like this, there's no denying that he understands what Kevin is experiencing all too well. He curls in a little closer, stroking a hand over Kevin's cheek and then kissing him soft and light and teasing; pausing after a moment and pulling back slightly.

"I know how you feel right now," Carlos says. "I can see it in your eyes. And… it's OK to let yourself sink deeper. You're safe. You're here. _You're ours_."

Kevin gasps in delight at that, and then Carlos turns to look over at Cecil, a wordless request in his expression. Knowing what he means without needing to ask, Cecil nods, and Carlos leans in closer again, starting to stroke gentle fingertips over Kevin's chest, following the path of the knife as Cecil moves it.

They both get _quite_ a response to that, as Kevin gives a sudden, desperate cry of approval, arching up against their touch. His eyes go wide with need, and it's clear he'd beg them not to stop, if he could form the words.

"It's all right, it's all right," Cecil murmurs, gently; trying to be soothing without slowing the deliberate path of the blade. "Just relax. Just let go. You're safe with us, I promise."

It's clearly the reassurance that Kevin needs; the reminder that it really is OK, that he really is safe, that he really can just let himself enjoy this. He relaxes back down, going still again, save for a slight lean in to the movement of the knife, and to Carlos' fingertips.

After a few more moments, Cecil sits back and lifts the knife away, whilst Carlos gently breaks contact too. The sudden pause makes Kevin whimper ever-so-slightly, but no more than that.

"Are you ready?" Cecil asks, and Kevin manages an emphatic nod in response.

That makes Cecil smile again, and he looks over at Carlos with a little tilt of the head that allows him, too, to make himself clear without words.

 _We should be less clothed_.

So they both move, allowing them to slip off what's left of their clothing, before climbing back onto the bed either side of Kevin and sliding his pyjama trousers off too. That gets them another little whimper of need from the man in question, and Carlos looks to Cecil all at once.

"Where do you want me?" Carlos asks, and the _deference_ in his voice makes Cecil's mind flood with so many new possibilities. And one in particular that he could… oh yes, he _could_ …

He smiles. "In the middle. I have an idea…"

Given how quickly Carlos moves, it's clear he likes the sound of this. He kneels between Kevin's legs, gently pushing them apart, and then starts to slowly stroke him. And that's exactly what Cecil wants, especially because it means Carlos won't be paying much attention to anything else…

"You read my mind," Cecil murmurs in Carlos' ear, which gets him a delicious little shiver of pleasure in response. "Keep doing that…"

And, whilst he does – his focus all on Kevin right now – Cecil leans over to the nightstand to retrieve the lubricant. And, very carefully, the pair of handcuffs that's in there too, making sure not to let them chink even slightly and risk giving away what he's got in mind.

Silently, he sets the handcuffs and the knife down on the bed, out of sight, and then slips in behind Carlos, pouring out some of the lubricant and reaching around to start stroking him with it.

" _Ohh_ ," Carlos gasps, arching into the contact.

"I wonder if I can get both of you out of your minds at once," Cecil says, still in Carlos' ear, but loud enough for Kevin to hear too. "Wouldn't that be something?"

That gets him a very definite response, given the way Kevin's eyes go wide with renewed need, and the way Carlos suddenly can't speak.

Cecil smiles. "I thought so," he says, and draws the moment out, making them both wait; knowing how effective the anticipation will be.

And then, seemingly relenting, he slows the movement of his hand to nothing, letting go, and then breathes a single, firm word in Carlos' ear.

" _Now_."

The other man doesn't hesitate to obey, pressing closer to Kevin and starting to slide slowly into him, and they both murmur in bliss as he does. Cecil gives them a moment to enjoy it, a moment to lose themselves in it… and then he moves all at once, taking hold of Carlos' hands and pulling them firmly behind his back.

Even with forewarning that Cecil was plotting something, it clearly takes Carlos by surprise, judging by the sudden cry of shocked delight. Kevin looks wholly in favour too, watching from beneath them both with pleasure-shot eyes.

"You trust me, don't you?" Cecil says in Carlos' ear, once more finding the tone that he knows will drive the other man wild.

" _Yes_ ," Carlos gasps.

And Cecil smiles again. " _Good_."

He moves quickly, getting hold of the handcuffs and snapping them closed around Carlos' wrists before he has a chance to really process what's going on. By the time he does, he's utterly caught, and the shocked little whimper he makes in response is mindblowingly delicious.

Cecil loops his free arm around Carlos' chest, so that he doesn't drop forwards, and then swipes up the knife and reaches around to press it over Carlos' throat.

And there's _definitely_ a moment when both Carlos and Kevin stop breathing. Cecil can feel Carlos' heart racing thunderously hard, and the look in Kevin's eyes is total bliss, mixed with a hint of pride.

And Cecil… Cecil feels a thrill of _power_ race through him; not simple awareness of the extra-planar abilities he has, but something deeper, something primal. The knowledge that these two incredible men trust him with _everything_ ; with their lives, with each other.

"Both of you," Cecil says, slow and firm and certain, "are _mine_. Aren't you?"

" _Yes_ ," Carlos gasps at once.

"… _yes_ …" Kevin manages, somehow managing to find the word.

"Yes," Cecil echoes. "And I won't let anyone hurt you. Either of you. _Ever again_."

 **Not ever**. They're _his_ , and that means they get to live as happy as is humanly possible, because he won't have it any other way.

"Don't you stop, now," Cecil tells Carlos. "I want to watch you both fall apart."

And – with Cecil supporting him – Carlos does as he's told, slowly riding the man beneath him whilst handcuffed and at knifepoint. It must be a heady juxtaposition in his mind, and judging by the soft sounds of pleasure he's making, he's definitely in favour. It isn't long before Carlos' whole body starts to shake a little, and he manages to speak again.

"I'm so close," he murmurs, sounding very out of his head. "So close. I… _Cecil, please_."

"When I tell you, you can come," Cecil replies, firm but gentle. "But _just_ you. Is that understood?"

Kevin manages a nod without hesitation, and he's clearly so deep in that wonderful mental place that he'd do anything Cecil asks.

" _Please_ ," Carlos gasps, again. "I need… Cecil… I need…"

"I know, I know," Cecil replies, intent on pushing this as far as he can. "Not yet. Don't stop."

And Carlos manages to hold on, his body still shaking in Cecil's arms but gradually less and less, as if his mind is sinking deeper too.

 _Got you_ , Cecil thinks, triumphant and adoring and loving every second.

" _Come for me_ ," he finally growls in Carlos' ear, and the other man comes a mere heartbeat later, crying out in bliss as pleasure and completion burst through him, not slowing until the waves start to subside and he goes completely pliant in Cecil's arms.

"Was that good?" Cecil murmurs, after a moment; finally lowering the knife.

All Carlos manages to do is nod, blissed-out and drifting, and that makes Cecil smile in happiness. "I'm glad," he says. "You're so very, very wonderful when you fall apart like that. And all the other times…"

Setting the knife down, he slowly unlatches the handcuffs from Carlos' wrists, but keeps him held close, making sure he doesn't fall, or feel bereft. "I want you to lie down again," Cecil tells him. "Next to Kevin, where you were before. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," Carlos murmurs, with another little nod. "Anything for you."

He pulls back, slow and lingering, and then collapses down next to Kevin, reaching to stroke a hand over his chest. The act makes Kevin gasp softly, murmuring in pleasure, and Cecil is caught for a moment by just how happy the two of them look right now, curled together and blissfully out of their minds.

Then he moves in closer, pushing Kevin's legs apart again and slicking himself with more of the lubricant, before pressing in over his double at the same time as sliding into him.

He feels _amazing_. And the expression on his face, as Cecil leans in closer, is rapt indeed.

"I'm going to make you fall apart," Cecil says, soft and low and certain, against Kevin's lips. "I'm going to make you fall apart so utterly that all you'll be able to remember is that you're ours. Ours, and only ours. And you won't ever have to be afraid again. Not ever. Because you're here, where you belong, and nothing and no one can change that."

Kevin gasps at this, looking like he's going to break completely, but with nothing but joy and liberation in his eyes. And so much gratitude that it makes Cecil's chest ache to see it.

"Yes," Kevin breathes, an affirmation like no other. " _Yes_."

So Cecil starts to move, gradually finding a rhythm that he knows would drive Kevin right out of his mind, had he not already slipped out of it long ago. He still looks nigh-on overwhelmed with pleasure; a pleasure he's surrendered to, given himself over to, and now gets to revel in.

"You feel so good," Cecil tells him, the sensation building in his own body too. "So very, very good. Are you close?"

Kevin manages a nod, silently mouthing the word 'yes', though this really isn't a surprise.

"Should I let you come?"

This gets him a rather more emphatic and ever-so-slightly desperate nod in response.

Cecil smiles, wanting to drag this out to the last second. "Say please."

"… _please_ ," Kevin gasps.

And Cecil curls in closer, still smiling, still trying to make this moment last as long as he can, until – finally – he relents.

"Come for me," he whispers. "For _us_."

Kevin doesn't need telling twice. Completion hits him hard, and all the need that's been building up inside him breaks all at once. He nigh-on screams in delight, in surrender, and certainly in release, his whole body shaking as he comes.

It's more than enough to kick Cecil over the edge as well, and he launches in to kiss Kevin furiously hard, full of possession and love, riding out his own climax and then gasping deeply as the bliss-haze lifts and the world reasserts.

And, knowing precisely what Kevin will need right now, he rolls the two of them onto their sides almost immediately, gathering the other man tightly into his arms whilst Carlos curls in firmly behind him. Kevin is already shaking all over, emotion welling to breaking point, and Cecil knows they need to keep hold of him until the moment passes.

Not that they'd want to let go. Not after what's just happened.

Cecil feels another wave of protectiveness hit him, and he holds on to Kevin even tighter.

"It's all right," he whispers, very gently. "It's all right. We have you. You're here. You're home. You're safe."

" _I love you_ ," Kevin chokes out, and he sounds like he's breaking all over again with the need to say it. "Both of you. _**I love you**_."

"We know," Carlos tells him, his own voice still heavy with pleasure. "We know."

It doesn't take long for Kevin to go still, the shaking subsiding as he gradually calms more and more, finally drifting off to sleep in their arms.

"…You're really good at this," Carlos murmurs to Cecil.

And Cecil can't help a smile. "I learned from the best."

Because he did, didn't he? He's seen Kevin do things like this before; seen the way it makes Carlos respond, and Cecil is starting to realise just how badly he's wanted to try doing it himself.

He certainly wants to try again. And again. With Kevin, with Carlos… with both of them.

Yes. Oh yes. Now that's a lovely thought to fall asleep to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...this chapter basically consists of two of my favourite scenes from all of Chiralityverse and writing it was pure joy.
> 
> And now - at last - the conclusion!


	7. In Perfect Symmetry

It's late the following night, and Cecil wakes to find that Kevin is out of bed. Carlos is still here, sleeping softly, but Kevin is nowhere to be seen, and that worries Cecil more than a little.

His double has been in a particularly good mood all day – given the events of the _previous_ night – but he's still recovering from what they went through, and it stands to reason that eventually it would hit him again.

Slowly – not wanting to wake Carlos – Cecil slips out of bed and finds his dressing gown in the semi-darkness, pulling it on and then pacing softly into the hallway. There's light coming from the living room and, struck by memories of last week, Cecil heads down to it, pushing the door open a little wider and stepping in.

Kevin is here, dressed in just his pyjama trousers and sitting on the edge of one of the couches. He leaps to his feet as Cecil walks in, clearly hyper-alert and wary.

"…I'm sorry if I woke you," he says at once.

"Don't be," Cecil replies. "Are you all right?"

"I… just needed a moment," Kevin answers. "It was… I…"

"Come here," Cecil says, very gently, pacing closer so that he can pull Kevin into his arms. The other man doesn't resist, letting Cecil hold him, and cautiously holding on too.

"I'm sorry," Kevin says, after a pause. "It all just hit me again, and…"

"Sweetheart, you don't have to apologise," Cecil insists, holding him tighter. "Tell me what you need."

"Can we… can we talk? I think… I need…"

The way he's slowly going to pieces makes it clear there's something specific on his mind that he can't quite say. Cecil pulls back just enough to meet Kevin's eyes, gently cupping his face.

"Of course," he replies. "Come sit with me."

And he moves them both back to the couch, sitting next to Kevin and taking his hands. The other man looks almost alarmed, and Cecil aches to see him in pain.

"I… You know I never meant for any of it to happen, don't you?" Kevin starts out. "If I'd realised we were going to end up on the First Infernal Plane, I would never have let you or Carlos _near_ that orb… I would never have let _him_ hurt you… I…"

He looks suddenly like he's about to break down, and Cecil pulls him in at once. "Hey, hey, it's all right, I promise you," he says, full of fierce love. "Neither of us would have let you face any of that alone. And you saved our lives. You were _magnificent_ , Kevin."

"I should have found a way to warn you," Kevin whispers. "A way to tell you that I had a plan in motion. But… but I couldn't… I _couldn't_ … and the things I had to do… the things I let that monster do to _you_ …"

" _Sweetheart_ ," Cecil breathes, "you _saved_ us."

"Did I?" Kevin replies. "You heard what he said. You… know he was right. I was corrupted by the Bloodstone before. Maybe… maybe I was a little too eager to sink back into it…"

"No," Cecil insists. "No. You weren't corrupted. You were controlled. Just like everyone in Desert Bluffs was controlled, for so very long."

"I should have been stronger. I should have fought it. I should have _stopped it_."

Cecil puts a hand on Kevin's jaw, gently making him look up. "But you did," he points out, softly. "Don't you see? You fought it over and over. They had to keep pushing you back under and every time they did, sooner or later, you'd break free again. And in the end… you broke free entirely."

"But it doesn't change the things I did," Kevin replies. "Nothing changes the things I did. Nothing… changes how easily I did them…"

He goes quiet for a moment, and Cecil doesn't speak, knowing there's something Kevin needs to say, and wanting to give him time to do so.

"…he picked _me_ , Cecil," he whispers. "A whole town full of people in the Bloodstone's sway, and _I'm_ the one he made into his fixer. I'm the one he sent to do all those awful things… and he must have had a reason for choosing me. He must have known he could corrupt me easily… that I'd become what he wanted… that…"

Heart breaking, Cecil pulls Kevin in tight. "No," he insists. "No. That's what he wanted you to think, but it isn't the truth. He wanted you because corrupting you was _hard_. Because he enjoyed the challenge. Why else would he have kept pushing you back under? He wanted you to fight. Otherwise he would have killed you and moved on to someone else."

It's a hard thing to say, but Cecil is sure he's right. Sure that Hartley wanted someone who regularly fought back.

"And I can prove it," he goes on, understanding something else. "The soul-bind he had with you, the one that would have made you unwaveringly loyal, if he'd invoked it. Why didn't he invoke it until the very end?"

Kevin pulls back and meets his eyes. There are tears in his own, but he looks suddenly stunned. "It… it was his last-ditch plan. In case all else failed. It…"

He trails off, and it's clear his mind is starting to catch on. "It would have been far smarter to invoke it immediately," Cecil points out. "Then you would have been completely under his control, with no risk of betrayal. You would never have undermined him during the occupation of Night Vale. _He would have won_."

Cecil knows this is true. If Kevin hadn't helped them, if he hadn't stolen Hartley's key, the old oak door would have opened at his command, and the Smiling God would have made it through.

They'd all be dead right now. Or much, much worse.

Kevin stares. "That's…" he tries. "I mean…"

"I'm not wrong," Cecil says, gently. "He didn't want you under total control unless he had no other choice. He only tipped his hand when he had someone new to torment."

"…you," Kevin whispers.

Cecil nods. "Yes. And he knew nothing would hurt me more than knowing you were back in his power. That's the only reason he did it."

It's a chilling realisation, but it does stand to prove the point.

"You weren't easy to corrupt," Cecil says. "You were _difficult_ to corrupt. And he never did. He controlled you, for a time, but he never truly broke you."

"…oh…" Kevin breathes. The pain doesn't lift from his eyes, but he seems to calm a little, as the words sink in. "You… you really think so?"

"Sweetheart, I know so," Cecil replies.

"But… he came close…"

"Maybe so. But he came close to breaking me, too."

That makes Kevin jump, and stare at him in renewed alarm. "What?" he says. "No. No."

Cecil looks down. He needs to admit this part. It's hurting him too, but more importantly, he needs Kevin to know the truth.

"Yes," he says, softly. "On the First Infernal Plane, just before you killed him. When I thought all hope was lost. I… was going to do what he wanted. I was going to open the gateway and let him and the rest of the board back through. I couldn't let him hurt Carlos, or you, because… because I knew he'd make you be the one to do it. So… I was waiting until the last possible moment, but I was going to give in."

Kevin stares, and he stares, and then he throws both arms around Cecil and holds on tight.

"You… you really…" he tries, but the words won't come.

Cecil nods, not letting go. "Yes," he says. He feels a little better for having admitted it, but the realisation itself is a hard one to carry. "I would have put everyone at risk of death, but I would have saved the two of you. And what might have followed… I would have found a way to stop it. I couldn't stand against him in demon form, but he would have had to be re-bound in human form if he planned to stay long-term, and… I would have stopped him in the end. But it doesn't change the fact that people would have died."

"But… that would have been his fault," Kevin insists, pulling back and meeting his eyes again. "Hartley's. Not yours."

And, despite it all, Cecil smiles just slightly. "Exactly," he says, and he can see the precise instant when Kevin's mind catches on. " _He_ was the one who did terrible things. Not me. And not you."

"…oh…" Kevin breathes, again.

Cecil rests their foreheads together. "You are the strongest man I know," he says. "You fought that monster for years, and he never truly had you. Don't for one second think that you were easily corrupted, because you weren't. He just liked to imagine otherwise."

Kevin stares at him, as if the clouds have finally cleared, and then he pushes back into Cecil's arms and holds on tight. "I don't know what I did to deserve you," he murmurs.

"I'd say 'you saved the world three times'," Cecil replies. "But you had me long before that."

They stay curled together, both of them shaking more than a little, until Kevin pulls back. He stares at Cecil for a moment and then, without a word, he pushes off the couch and drops down onto his knees at Cecil's feet.

And _oh_ but it's incredible when he does that.

"I love you so much," Kevin says. "And I owe you _everything_."

"You don't owe me a thing," Cecil insists. "All I want from you is _you_."

And, though he loves the sight of the other man on his knees, he sits back and reaches to pull Kevin up and into his lap, wrapping both arms around him and holding him close. He can feel the way the other man relaxes into the embrace, the pain and the tension dropping out of him, and for a long, long moment they just stay curled like that.

"I still can't thank you enough for the other night," Kevin says, eventually.

Cecil smiles. "Getting to do what we did was all the thanks I need," he replies. "Was there… anything you would have changed?"

Kevin meets his eyes again. "Not a thing," he replies. "And… are you asking me for pointers?"

Apparently in favour of another shift in position, and determined to get Kevin's mind focused on better things, Cecil suddenly takes hold of him and flips him down onto his back on the couch; sliding into place on top of him.

The other man gasps in delight.

"Yes," Cecil says. "I am asking you for pointers. Put your hands above your head."

The speed with which Kevin does as he's told is positively delicious, and _oh_ but he looks stunning like this: open and trusting and _wanting_.

Cecil smiles. "There, now. Does that help?"

Kevin nods. "Yes," he says. "Yes. And… honestly, Cecil, you were amazing. I don't know where it all came from but I will give you _anything_ to do it again."

"I told you, you don't have to give me a thing," Cecil reminds him. "Just getting to be with you like that is more than enough. But… you know that. You've been the one on top. You know how it feels. And… you still want to do that sometimes, don't you?"

"Yes," Kevin answers, with a smile of his own. "I… like both. I like making Carlos incoherent with bliss. And… I liked it when you did it to me."

"And what about when we _both_ did it to Carlos?" Cecil asks, now trying to make sure he knows exactly how all this stands.

"I liked that a _lot_ ," Kevin replies. "I was hoping we might do something like that again soon, especially now you've discovered all these hidden depths of yours. And you can bet anything you like that Carlos will be in favour."

"Oh, I'm sure of it," Cecil agrees. "We should discuss it more sometime soon. Come up with a _plan_. Maybe even try something new…"

"I… sort of have an idea about that," Kevin says. "I need to make some arrangements, but once I do…" He smiles. "Yes. Yes. I think you'll approve."

"I can't wait," Cecil tells him, smiling too, and leaning in to kiss him, soft and light, over and over until Kevin whimpers in need.

"I love you so much," he manages.

"I love you too," Cecil replies, resting their foreheads together. "Now… much as I enjoy having you pinned to the couch, I think this would be a good time to take you back to bed."

"You do?" Kevin says, with just a hint of a wicked flicker in his eyes. "What makes you so sure?"

"Two things," Cecil starts out. "One: it's more comfortable. And two: I don't know how much longer Carlos can continue to keep quiet in the doorway…"

Over in the entrance from the hall, Carlos gives a little squeak of surprise and – rumbled – steps into the room. "How long have you known?" he asks.

"Quite a while," Cecil answers, smiling. "I was going to call attention to it sooner, but I know how you like to watch sometimes…"

"Well… I mean… I'm a scientist," Carlos manages, "and we're natural observers, and… _please take us both back to bed_ …"

So Cecil does. But it's quite a while before they're asleep again.

***

_**EIGHT MONTHS LATER** _

Cecil smiles to himself as he remembers.

It's been quite a journey to get here. A road that led through multiple revolutions, highs and lows, dangers and victories. There have been difficult days, and there have been terrifying ones, but in the end, here they are: alive, together, and stronger than ever.

Are there things Cecil would change, if he could? Of course. Anything to mitigate the pain, and speed up the joy. But, at the same time, changing the pieces of the puzzle might just change the final picture too, and he wouldn't want to alter a single thing about that.

And in a few short weeks, he's going to marry the two loves of his life: his double, and their scientist, and an incredible journey will come to its end, just as the next incredible journey begins.

He doesn't know what it will hold, but he can't wait for them to find out together, and he's sure both his lovers feel the same: Carlos, because the unknown fascinates him, and Kevin, because Cecil himself does.

And that's not a surprise. They are chiral, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and we're done! Thank you to those of you who joined me on this latest journey. I hope you've enjoyed it just as much as I have!
> 
> I also hope to be back very soon, as I already have two half-finished fics that both need to see the light of day. They're rather different in tone, however... so I don't know yet which will come first.
> 
> Until next time, dear readers! Until next time...
> 
> :-)


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